Books

Erik Estrada – My Road from Harlem to Hollywood

by Erik Estrada

The hottest icon of ’70s television tells his own story–an unflinchingly honest saga of the women, money, and show-biz politics that engulfed his Hollywood rise, and where he’s been since his fall.

In this startlingly honest tell-all autobiography, Erik Estrada reveals how he journeyed from the mean streets of East Harlem to the even meaner boulevards of Hollywood, where he became television’s hottest star in the hit series “CHiPs”. Gorgeous women, exclusive clubs, fast cars, and a jet-set world filled Estrada’s life during the show’s five-year run, but despite his success, Tinseltown’s power structure wanted this irreverent actor out. It wasn’t until 1994 that Estrada made his comeback-as the number-one Spanish-language soap opera star in the Mexican novela Dos Mujeres, un Camino–and as an icon to a generation of adults who had once yearned for Estrada’s sexy charm in their living rooms every week.

For his new audience and the loyal fans of “CHiPs”, here is a firsthand account of the solid, middle-class values, devoted mother, hard work, and the many inspirational women behind the television legend.

Wattaya Mean, Men Don’t Care?
A Collection of Poetry “Men Making True Confessions”

by Lewis Saunders

Lewis Saunders, better known to “CHiPs” fans as Gene Fritz, has written a book of poetry of “Men Making True Confessions.” This book of poetry is about love and loss of love from men’s points of view. Each poem is based on an actual interview or interviews with men of all ages and ethnicity; from all walks of life and social strata. In his book, Lewis Saunders voices the sentiment of men who are strong enough in themselves to be gentle and considerate. Through these poems, good men are pouring out their hearts and souls.

Time Flies When You’re Alive: A Real-Life Love Story

by Paul Linke

First presented as a one-man show in Los Angeles, this candid, lovingly humorous tribute to actor Linke’s musician wife, “Chex,” recounts the valiant, two-year battle she waged against breast cancer until her death, at age 37, in 1986. The moving narrative follows the couple’s vicissitudes as the strong-willed wife, a champion of “undiluted experience,” undergoes three somewhat arduous home births and surgery on a cancerous breast. Refusing post-operative chemotherapy and radiation, Chex chose a long succession of ineffective alternative treatments, from Mexican clinics to visualization. While the author, now remarried, acknowledges the strain her illness placed on their relationship, he writes that the birth of a daughter a year before Chex’s death renewed their faith in each other and in the miracle of life itself.