Bear State Books

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Exeter, CA
Bear State Books

Bear State Books has been dedicated to the publication of area histories and biographies to help preserve our heritage. Navy. and Paul Anka.

It is owned and operated by Chris Brewer, a registered Professional Historian through the California Council for the Promotion of History (CCPH) and an architectural historian for the California Department of Transportation. Brewer started publishing books in 1979, when his mother-in-law, Bonnie Botkin, asked him how to reprint Walter M. Smith’s First Fifty Years of Exeter Union High School.

“I

had access to typesetting equipment through an acquaintance in Bakersfield and we went over to Taft Community College and worked on the book in the evenings after working at the Kern County Museum,” Brewer recalled.

“I loved the idea of printing books and slowly learned the process necessary to do so.”

Eight years later, a cousin asked him about publishing a book of historic pictures. Brewer had “a fairly substantial collection” of old photographs so the two partnered up with Brewer doing the work and his cousin paying the bills. The book, The Bakersfield and Kern Picture Album, sold more than 8,000 copies. Since then, Bear State Books has published more than 30 titles, including El Camino Viejo á Los Angeles, Death Valley ‘49ers, Exeter’s Photographic Past, Handbook of Yokuts Indians, Bakersfield Pastoral and the huge Thompson’s Atlas Map of Tulare County, California. Chris BrewerBrewer, the great-grandson of Colonel Thomas Baker, for whom the city of Bakersfield is named, spent a decade as a professional musician, starting while in the service in the U.S. He played bass trombone for such singers as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. Chris and his wife own Book Garden in downtown Exeter. They also own and operate Exeter Flower Company next door. Chris is a member of the Society of California Pioneers, the California Council for the Preservation of History, and, with his wife is a life member of the Tulare County Historical Society and the Death Valley `49ers. He also serves on the advisory committee of the Great Valley Center, in Modesto. Besides at local bookstores like Book Garden in Exeter, his books are sold internationally including through retail locations such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and at BearStateBooks.com.

03/30/2022

Spread the word, we really need an Experienced Floral Designer. Call (559) 592-2551

12/08/2021

Read about the Tule River community on the Middle Fork and see for yourself the history of this wonderful mountain home for many people....

Read about the Tule River community on the Middle Fork and see for yourself the history of this wonderful mountain home for many people.

11/11/2021

We teamed up with the Unknown History podcast on Quick and Dirty Tips to bring you their latest series based on Giles Milton’s Checkmate in Berlin. Episode 4 delves into social life in Berlin after the city fell to the … Read the article The post Unknown History: Sleeping with the Enemy appeared first on The History Reader.

11/08/2021

by David McKean President-elect Franklin Roosevelt liked William Bullitt the moment they met.Bullitt was energetic, clearly intelligent, and there was a bold, dashing quality to the forty-year-old former diplomat that attracted Roosevelt, an immensely charismatic figure himself. William C.Bullitt, first… Read the article The post William Bullitt: The Champagne Ambassador appeared first on The History Reader.

11/04/2021

by Michael Eric Dyson For the last fifteen years of her colossal and regal existence, I had the great fortune of knowing, listening to, talking to, and spending time with the one and only Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Her … Read the article The post The Church of Aretha Franklin appeared first on The History Reader.

10/29/2021

by Tom Clavin Lightning Down by Tom Clavin is the incredible saga of American fighter pilot Joe Moser, who piloted a P-38 Lightning, one of the most effective weapons the Army Air Corps had against the powerful German Luftwaffe. The … Read the article The post Flying on Fumes: Stories of a WWII Fighter Pilot appeared first on The History Reader.

10/28/2021

We teamed up with the Unknown History podcast on Quick and Dirty Tips to bring you their latest series based on Giles Milton’s Checkmate in Berlin. Read on for more about Episode 3, which discussed American colonel Frank “Howlin’ Mad” … Read the article The post Unknown History: The Americans Arrive in Berlin appeared first on The History Reader.

10/19/2021

by Michael Eric Dyson For more than thirty years, Michael Eric Dyson has played a prominent role in the nation as a public intellectual, university professor, cultural critic, social activist, and ordained Baptist minister. In the following essay from his … Read the article The post Allen Iverson: Pound for Pound appeared first on The History Reader.

10/18/2021

By Mohamad Jebara Muhammad, the World-Changer is an accessible and fresh biography boldly arguing that Muhammad’s entrepreneurial mindset helped unleash the modern world. Read on for an excerpt. Panoramic View of Mecca, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This image was provided by… Read the article The post The Birth of Muhammad appeared first on The History Reader.

10/15/2021

What’s In the September JAH? The September issue of the JAH is available online and in print. From OAH President George J. Sánchez’s annual meeting address that focuses on immigration to our Editor’s Choice article by Bathsheba Demuth, which is available for free, this issue covers extensive chronological and thematic territory. As always, we encourage [...]

10/14/2021

We teamed up with the Unknown History podcast on Quick and Dirty Tips to bring you their latest series based on Giles Milton’s Checkmate in Berlin. Read on for more about Episode 2, covering the Soviet occupation of Berlin on … Read the article The post Unknown History: Berlin Turns Red appeared first on The History Reader.

10/08/2021

by Nancy Marie Brown In the following excerpt from The Real Valkyrie, Nancy Marie Brown provides an in-depth look at the Viking economy in Norway’s first true town, a system heavily based on pillaging, enslaving, and trading. The scales… Read the article The post A Viking Economy: Kaupang at Skiringssal appeared first on The History Reader.

Address

179 E Pine Street
Exeter, CA
93221

Telephone

+15595922538

Website

http://bearstatebooks.com/

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