Willie: The Man, the Myth and the Era, Texas Roots/California Dreams

By Pegasus Books

Texas Roots/California Dreams includes three chapters that involve Willie Brown’s background and his earliest environment and influences. Born in Mineola, Texas, a place he remembered as “a small, very poor, very backward community, totally and completely racially segregated,” this book examines his family, his early years and his eventual escape to San Francisco, California.
.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Release date: Jul 12, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452437736

Pegasus Books

About Pegasus Books Since its inception in 1998, Pegasus Books has anticipated a publishing industry that would evolve from a system of tradition and exclusivity to one of access and opportunity for thousands of good writers who, despite literal lifetimes of effort, were simply unable to break into a system built on cronyism, luck and institutional favoritism. On the other hand, there were the vanity presses, places where no accomplished, self-respecting writer would sacrifice his or her hard-wrought work. As a result, many great writers with incredible works were locked out of the process. Fortunately, the creation and availability of desktop publishing applications and Print-on-Demand providers have changed the course of a reluctant multi-billion dollar industry, and the Internet continues to influence that change. As a result, there are more opportunities now than ever for writers, published and unpublished, for those with agents or on their own. Pegasus Books is a traditional small-to-medium press, dedicated to publishing the works of aspiring new authors and providing greater opportunities and support to established writers by being at the vanguard of this transformation. We only expect our authors to match our passion and dedication to producing high-quality books and related products. We want our readers to enjoy consistently creative, thoughtful works in their many formats. MARCUS MCGEE Curriculum Vitae Birth dateAugust 8, Casablanca Morocco Locale 19XX– 19XXCasablanca, Morocco 1964 – 1967Madrid, Spain 1967 – 1969Omaha, Nebraska 1969 – 1984Sacramento, California Valley High School (Speech, Debate, Languages, Music) California State University, Sacramento (Communication Studies major, French Language & Theatre Arts minors) 1984 - presentSacramento, CA and Los Angeles, CA Writing/Production History 1982Three plays: Solomon and Constance, Michael Angelo, Stevie: The Eighth Wonder of the World 1983Produced and directed Stevie at Sierra II Theatre, Sacramento, July; wrote stage play Table 21 Wrote No More Cheesecake!; began first novel 1985Completed novel Deus Ex Machina, completed two plays: Caesar and Kidstuff 1986Wrote stage play Dream and one-act Fashion 1987Adapted Dream as screenplay; Piss Only on the Porcelain, short stories Till Death Do Us Part, Mr. Peacock, Anthropophagi 1988Wrote The Love Tragedies and Remember 1990Produced, directed and starred in No More Cheesecake! at the Sacramento Community Center Theatre, March; began Willie Brown biography 1994Wrote Mommy! There’s A Little Boy Under My Bed! 1996Completed Willie: The Man, The Myth & The Era; wrote short stories 1998Founded Pegasus Books; Published An Essay: On Niggers and Squirrels; began writing legal novel; wrote Black Bertha 1999Published short story collection: Four Stories; finished novel; wrote Apology 2000Published novel Legal Thriller; Published An Essay: On The Execution of Timothy McVeigh 2001Published short story collection: Synchronicity; began new novel 2002Published thriller The Last Year 2003Researched and developed Griot film project 2004Completed short story collection: The Silk Noose; began sequel to Legal Thriller 2005-06 Published The Silk Noose; researched and developed thriller Viral Vector; continued writing Murder From the Grave 2007-08 Completed Murder From the Grave; began writing ViralVector; founded Parnassus Press Partnership Publishing 2009-10: Published Murder From the Grave; published Shadow In The Sky, published Moment of Truth, published Mommy, There’s A Little Boy Under My Bed! completed Viral Vector; began work on An Old Negro Spiritual and An Essay On What They Called Us; Borders Book tour of the Northwest – Murder From The Grave a bestseller for region in Q4 2010 2011Wrote and published How To Eat An Elephant and Two Matadors; converted all books to eBooks; greater emphasis on publishing new writers; wrote Obama's Shirt and two additional books under pseudonym. Extras: Fluent in French, competent at Latin and Spanish; accomplished at saxophone and other woodwinds; strong science, math, history, political science and religions background Hobbies: Reading history and philosophy; theatrical production; music and movies Passions: Writing, research, stories, wine, art, Odd Fact: Marcus managed an upscale/political/lobbyist hangout Chinese restaurant called Frank Fat’s, one block from the California State Capitol, for fourteen years.

Book preview

Willie – The Man, the Myth and the Era

Texas Roots/

California Dreams

By

Marcus McGee

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Pegasus Books/Marcus McGee on Smashwords

Willie – The Man, The Myth and the Era

Texas Roots/California Dreams

Copyright © 1995, 2011 by Marcus McGee

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

ISBN - 978-1-4524-3773-6

Comments about Willie – The Man, the Myth and the Era, Texas Roots and requests for additional copies, book club rates and author speaking appearances may be addressed to Marcus McGee or Pegasus Books c/o Ms. McGhee, P.O. Box 235, Neptune, New Jersey, 07754, or you can send your comments and requests via e-mail to [e-mail]

PREFACE

There is no justification for anyone ever apologizing for whatever my successes may be. I enjoy my success and don’t ask people to lament for any of my failures.

Willie Lewis Brown, Jr.

In this book, the result of my inquiry into the life of Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. and the recent history of the California State Legislature, I hope to do two things: to preserve intact an objective perception of the man by putting on record his background, his life, his achievements and failures, his perceived strengths and weaknesses; secondly and more particularly, to establish what effect he has had on public policy, to establish his impact on California, Californians, and by extension, Americans, however subtle or profound.

I further hope to put his life and accomplishments in perspective with reference to the specific era in which he has served the State. Neither Mr. Brown nor the public would suffer the attempts by a writer to explain away his actions and positions, so in this inquiry I will make every attempt to present his life from varying perspectives in a sincere effort to achieve objectivity.

In spite of the fact that I have spent years researching Willie Brown, I have probably had and continue to have more mistaken impressions about him than anyone. With each anecdote I have heard, with each conversation I have pursued, with each interview I have convened, I discovered more intricate details and nuances of the man’s character and life.

He was, by all means, a challenging subject to consider, larger than life and enigmatic. For this reason I have attempted to be implacably thorough in the process of gathering information about him, and I hope to be as implacably thorough in sharing what I have discovered through my careful inquiry.

During interviews for the book, I was frequently asked why I had taken such an interest in Willie Brown. Over the years I had myself pondered the same question. Much of my interest, I imagine, related to a profound love of history, and specifically, history relating to great men. Plutarch’s Parallel Lives of Illustrious Romans and Greeks as well as other individual histories have influenced me almost as much as the Bible. Alexander is no less a hero to me than David.

By mentioning Plutarch, I am, in no way comparing this history of Willie Brown to any of his histories, but I cannot help holding his objective and scholarly approach as a model for my own work. If my inquiry is not as enduring, it is not for lack of greatness in my subject, but some deficiency of my own, which might not allow me to present him accurately.

Willie Brown, for the influence he has had on the most influential state in the most influential country in our world, certainly qualifies as a great man, and his life has indeed been an illustrious one.

From his humble east Texas beginnings to his ragged course in San Francisco where he, as a young lawyer, worked to keep pimps and prostitutes out of jail, from his days as a bold freshman assemblyman with the audacity to vote against Big Daddy Jess Unruh to his emergence on the national