The friendship of a brother and sister in California, united by their love of surfing, but divided by their parents' crumbling marriage. Medina sides with the father, a doctor, Jim with the ex-model mother.

In a secret meeting on Jekyll Island, Georgia, a small group of bankers founded the Federal Reserve System just over 100 years ago. Financier Frank A. Vanderlip was the only one of the men to write a first-hand account of the week that changed America's banking system. From the day as a young farmboy, watching the repossession of his family's property, through his tenure as president of the country's largest bank, Frank Vanderlip gave great thought to the economy, corporate responsibility, and monetary policy. Understanding his background, his world, and his thought process at the time are all vital elements to learning the full story of the Federal Reserve and why money works the way it does today. He lectured and wrote with thought and wit about banking, financing, education, and politics in the U.S. and Europe. His personal insights into men of his time, such as J.P. Morgan, are entertaining and amusing. His comments on public knowledge of business, corporations, and the workings of government are still as relevant as when he spoke them. "Frank A. Vanderlip - The Banker Who Changed America", is the first full look at the story of his life. It is written with research from original journals, from newspapers of the time, and from his own books, including his autobiography, "From Farmboy to Financier". Over 300 photos add depth and personality. Some of these have not been shown in almost 100 years. Although Frank Vanderlip's life was uniquely lived, it can be universally understood. It's themes of bank failures, home foreclosures, labor unrest, and government corruption are timeless. It is a lesson and a study in success and power - how to get it and, more importantly, how to use it.

Palos Verdes and the South Bay's dramatic beauty is mirrored by a dramatic history. Feuding over claims to the Rancho San Pedro continued for seventy-three years. The Vanderlip family's forty-year development of the Palos Verdes Peninsula resulted in one of California's wealthiest and most well-kept enclaves of coastal cities. Marineland of the Pacific on the Peninsula's end was one of the West Coast's more popular tourism draws before its controversial closing. But that's only the beginning. In this exciting compilation of articles, authors Bruce and Maureen Megowan reveal some of the intriguing secrets and little-known facts nestled within the hills, valleys and nearby cities of this beautiful area. Discover some of the fascinating stories about the development of the South Bay and Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Follows the adventures of Palo, a young peachick, who learns an important lesson when he and his sisters are attacked by a wild coyote.

Readers of this historical treasure are transported to the times of the Native Americans, to the coming of the intrepid explorers and the dons, through the mission days and the American occupation. This new edition has been fully updated, and includes more than 50 rare photographs.