Summary

Chapter 4. Book Titles at the beginning of this chapter: All About California, and the Inducements to Settle There; Migration and the Southern California Economy; San Jacinto Cemetery Inscriptions, 1888-2003; and The Postman Always Rings Twice.

In this chapter, Orlean sums up her research into Harry Peak who, she says, died in 1993. She talks to his sisters Debra and Brenda; meets his gruff father, shortly before he dies; and tracks his work history and friendships throughout Los Angeles. She finds out that the often-troubled family had emigrated to California in order to generate better income and build a better life for themselves, and that they managed a degree of middle-class success. She also finds out that Harry, the youngest and most spoiled child, was a drifter, a charmer, and as Debra calls him, a “bullshitter.” Orlean also finds out, through Debra, that Harry had...