Pete Andresen, Writer

06/16/2026

Step into California history at California’s First Theater in Monterey for a special free author talk with acclaimed historian John Boessenecker.

Boessenecker will discuss his latest book, Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta: The Bandit Chief Who Terrorized California and Launched the Legend of Zorro, exploring the life, violence, myths, and Monterey County connections surrounding one of California’s most legendary figures.

Saturday, June 20
2:00 PM
California’s First Theater
Monterey State Historic Park

Books will be available for purchase and signing following the event.

04/03/2026

Moncacht-Apeh. What an epic saga.

Was Moncacht Apé a real person? Did he actually travel the entire breadth of North America? We don't know for sure but it's a heck of a story either way. E...

03/29/2026

It is a lesson learned time and time and time again. Power and wealth, wealth and power, corrupt and derange us. Across the political spectrum.

In his remote headquarters, the United Farm Workers leader began to see himself as not just a union leader, but a visionary healer.

03/22/2026

The truth is vastly more fascinating than fiction.

Joaquin Murrieta was America’s most famous Latino outlaw. In myth, he was a Mexican Robin Hood and the real-life inspiration for Zorro. According to folklore, he was the Robin Hood of El Dorado, a horseback avenger who battled injustice and fought to protect the rights of Latinos in the Wild West. However, the true story is much more complicated.

Joaquin, born in Mexico about 1829, joined the California gold rush in late 1848. After failing as a gold miner and then as an itinerant gambler, he joined a gang of bandidos and eventually became their leader. His lieutenant was a Californio, or native Californian, named Bernardino Garcia, better known as Three Fingered Jack. Murrieta and his gang raided through the mining camps and killed some 45 people, including 20 unarmed Chinese miners. As a result, the state legislature created the California Rangers, headed by Captain Harry Love, a Mexican War veteran and former Texas Ranger, to hunt them down.

READ MORE: https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/joaquin-murrieta/

03/06/2026

An anniversary today. Lessons for today.

The First Battle of Bud Dajo, also known as the Moro Crater Massacre, was a counterinsurgency action conducted by the United States Army and Marine Corps[4] against the Moro people in March 1906, during the Moro Rebellion in the southwestern Philippines.[5][6][7]

02/22/2026

A very effective magazine cover!

02/03/2026

ANIMALS which photosynthesize. Imagine. Imagine if PEOPLE could photosynthesize. The Plakobranchia nubibranches were especially interesting to me when I volunteered and worked at University of Hawaii. Imagine if we could eat vegetables, keep the chloroplasts intact, and transfer them internally to our skin structures. Nature is amazing.

Meet the fantastically colorful and astonishingly adaptable sea slugs that found a way to photosynthesize (or create energy from sunlight) like plants. Divin...

01/29/2026

There is a tremendous range in these novels in both quality and in topic! Amazing! Thanks Mike! I'm writing one right now.

In this video, I’ll tell you about my ten favorite Western novels.To put my choices into context, I’ll first give you lists of the Top 10 Western Novels base...

01/18/2026

Imagine! It really WAS called Welsh RABBIT! Great plot detail!

Our Brand New Viewing Experience ➧ https://townsendsplus.com/ ➧➧Retail Website ➧ http://www.townsends.us/ ➧➧Help support the channel with Patreon ➧ https://w...

01/11/2026

Led by Unit 731, the Japanese Imperial forces planned to inflict a similar attack on the US mainland. Think of the consequences. I am guessing that, had the plan succeeded, the call for massive post -war retaliation against the Japanese people would have been overwhelming.

The Kaimingjie germ weapon attack (simplified Chinese: 开明街鼠疫灾难; traditional Chinese: 開明街鼠疫災難; lit. 'Kaiming Street plague disaster') was a secret biological warfare attack launched by Japan in October 1940 against the Kaiming Street area of Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, using ...