Chris Epting is the author of 40 travel/history books, including James Dean Died Here (Santa Monica Press), Roadside Baseball (McGraw Hill), Hello It's Me, Dispatches From a Pop Culture Junkie (Santa Monica Press) and many others. He is also an award-winning travel writer and has contributed articles for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Westways and Travel + Leisure magazine, among other publications. In addition, Chris is a memoirist and has co-written Def Leppard's Phil Collen's memoir, Adrenalized, the John Oates Memoir Change of Seasons, and Long Train Runnin’ with the Doobie Brothers among many others. Originally from New York, Chris now lives in Southern California.
LATEST RELEASES
It Happened Right Here: America's Pop Culture Landmarks
Past Praise for Chris Epting’s Pop Culture Location Books
"Chris Epting has written a guidebook to a broad range of historic and often hysterical American landmarks—more than 700 in all. James Dean Died Here includes the spot where the young movie icon perished in a car accident, the location of the Brady Bunch house, and the hangar where the final scene of Casablanca may have been shot.”
―National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered”
"Who says Americans don’t know much about history?. . . Epting’s quirky factoids are most appealing."
—Publishers Weekly
“James Dean Died Here is an addictively irresistible tour through pop culture past and present.”
— Chicago Tribune
LISTEN! Chris's podcast on
VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
The Moment features host, best-selling author and TV host Chris Epting, in conversation with some of the world’s most interesting artists, athletes and public figures, zeroing in on “the moments” where their lives took a dramatic turn. Exploring both the highs and lows, The Moment reveals those life-changing episodes in vivid, expansive ways that they have not been discussed before. Listen live every Thursday at 10 AM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel. [CLICK HERE]
WATCH! Chris's Show Hidden Huntington Beach
Since the summer of 2020, Chris has produced and hosted a local TV show he created called “Hidden Huntington Beach.” It’s a search for local history that has already revealed many hidden secrets. No matter where you live, there is history underfoot and as hidden Huntington Beach demonstrates, sometimes it’s just simply knowing where to look and who to talk to to discover the magic. Here’s a link to a playlist of all of the episodes from the first three seasons. CLICK HERE
SHOP! At Chris's Lost Landmark site
What is a “lost landmark” exactly? It’s kind of hard to describe. But you know when you see it. Or feel it. Lost landmarks are those places that you visited long ago in your community that are no longer here. Places where you came of age. A place that touched your heart. Places you miss. But lost landmarks can also be places that were long gone before you were even born; legendary locations that became mythical over time (with stories being passed down even today).
When it comes to lost landmarks, we want to commemorate, celebrate, and educate. We want to help stoke the memories and bring the past back to life. We will be adding more lost landmarks as time goes on and we hope you enjoy this initial collection that we have created. And we’ll keep adding information here so that you can learn even more about these lost landmarks. That way, when somebody asks you about that Pav-a-Lon T-shirt or Huntington Beach Speedway coffee mug, you’ll be able to share the information so that these lost landmarks are never forgotten. So then the history may live on even longer. Be sure to check back often because we will be adding more lost landmark merchandise on a regular basis (and of course, many more photos and stories). Look at the amazing items HERE
Jimi and Me: The Experience of a Lifetime
A young screenwriter is invited to collaborate with Jimi Hendrix on a film, resulting in the wildest eighteen months of his life and coinciding with the tumultuous final months of Hendrix’s life.
