The Lure of a Land by the Sea

                                        Venice Vignettes by

                                       Delores Hanney

“Venice, California sits here, at the far left side of the continent,
the spot just before one falls off the edge.”

With these words Delores Hanney launches into her brief, breezy
histories about this town, famed chiefly for its high oddball factor
that renders it a popular Southern California attraction second
only to Disneyland at drawing visitors in vast swarms.

The face Venice turns to the dawning sunlight each day has been
mutating since the beginning, when Abbot Kinney’s dream
community of class and culture was reorganized into something
less lofty.   As diverse as a rhinoceros from a Ruben sandwich or
a rainbow, the stars that flitted across its stage have included –
in addition to Kinney – tiger-tamer Mabel Stark, evangelist
Aimee Semple McPherson, writer Ray Bradbury, race car guy
Carroll Shelby and Irwin M. Fletcher (better known as Fletch).
There are stories about all of them, and many others too, in
The Lure of a Land by the Sea.

Hanney brings to her historytellings the zeal of an old-time
California gold miner;  indeed, her narratives shine like little
gold nuggets gathered up together in a swell sprightly style.
The book also includes a golden foreword in the form of a jaunty
Venice memory piece written by William Carroll.

It’s the ultimate beach read this summer!

Get it at Amazon.com