Historical Fiction

Ernest C Brown, Esq PE

The Murder of a California Editor Who Dispatched Their Own ObituaryErnest C Brown

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Length13h 25m

About this audiobook

This is a violent story about Modoc County's history of mayhem and a particularly deadly feud between the owners of two of California’s earliest newspapers. The central story is the cold-blooded murder of a well-liked local newspaper editor on March 25, 1937. The victim, Claude McCracken, worked as an editor and publisher and the regional stringer for the Associated Press. The killer, Harry French, was the son of a rival newspaper’s editor, and a relative of the Author. McCracken, after being shot five times, and fully aware he was dying, dictated his own obituary. It was immediately wired to the Associated Press (AP). He was carried to a local hospital - where his wife was on duty as a nurse. She held him in her arms as he was prepared for the operating room where he exhaled his last breath. The story shot across the AP wire, and a hundred local papers across the United States, as well as Time Magazine, the New York Times, and Life Magazine with lessons for today's media wars.

Audiobook details

GenreHistorical Fiction

Length13 hrs 25 mins

Narrated bySelect Your Own

FormateBook with Audio

Publish dateApr 13, 2026

LanguageEnglish

1Ernest C Brown, Esq PE

13100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 12

2100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 1

14100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 13

3100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 2

15100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 14

4100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 3

16100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 15

5100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 4

17100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 16

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6100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 5

18100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 17

7100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 6

19100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 18

8100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 7

20100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 19

9100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 8

21100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 20

10100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 9

22100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 21

11100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 10

23100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 22

12100 Pine Street, Suite 1250 Part 11

About the author

Ernest C Brown

Ernest Brown is a native of Reno, Nevada and has written about California construction and development. He is a graduate of MIT and the University of California. This is his first historical novel, set in Alturas, Modoc County, California. It centers on the murder of a California newspaper editor in 1937 by the Author's distant relative.View all by Ernest C Brown