3 comments about Vegas Confidential: Norm Clarke! Sin City's Ace Insider 1,000 Naked Truths (Las Vegas Review-Journal Book).

1. "1000 Naked Truths" is an indispensable pocket guide for your next trip to Las Vegas. This book has insider tips for getting the most of out Sin City, whether you are on a budget or not. If you are raring to purchase a $1000 dollar martini - Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel is the place to go. At the other end of the spectrum might be the Double Down Saloon. Norm Clarke also takes the guess work out of where to hang to see the most outrageous celebrities and provides detailed scenarios for the ultimate bachelor parties. He also supplies a very handy list of the "top 10 places to propose" and "the top 10 oddest jobs" to be found in Las Vegas.
   
   It is a very cool book, one that will provide ample intel about "what's hot" in Vegas right now and the best part is that after a short reading of it, you can seem to be as connected as Norm is.



2. This is a great book for anyone coming to Las Vegas. It covers everything from where to go, what to do and where to go to be seen. The in places and the hottest night spots, everything that makes Vegas, Vegas. If you are planning a trip to Vegas and want to know the ins and outs, here is your guide for the most up to date information on our city.
   Ken Summerville
   VEGASBUFFETS.COM



3. This book proves that Norm Clarke is the "go to" guy for anything and everything that has to do with what's in or not in Las Vegas. It is so much more than a guide, although it has lists for must-see resorts, hottest nightclubs and the Strip's best shows. It is also filled with fun facts on Vegas history, wildest wagers, and famous local characters. Not all of his statistics are accurate (Mickey Rooney only got married 4 out of 8 times in Vegas, not 8 out of 8, and he married Ava Gardner in Ballard, CA, not Sin City), but I still recommend this book as a great source of information.

4 comments about The Stardust of Yesterday: Reflections on a Las Vegas Legend.

1. I actually bought this book in the lobby of the Stardust a week before it closed. Initially, I found it morbid that they already spoke of the Stardust in past tense about what a shame it was gone as I sat in my hotel room... in the Stardust. It was like talking about someone in past tense while they're in the room listening to your conversation, not quite as dead as conversation would lead one to believe.
   
   That aside, the book tells a lot of history of the hotel/casino, and is filled with lots of great pictures and fond memories of guests and employees of the Stardust. The book covers a lot of behind-the-scenes aspects of the casino, the shows that ran during its existence, and the celebrities which frequented the casino.
   
   I think the saddest part of the book was the fact that it really did point out how innovative the Stardust was in changing the face of entertainment on the Strip. Such a great hotel with a lot of personality, closed down to make way for yet another casino/hotel/condo/mall hybrid Vegas seems so intent on placing all over the Strip in lieu of everything else these days.
   
   Since buying the book, I've been back to Vegas, and now the Stardust is indeed closed in the past tense, and torn apart in a lot of places to be readied for implosion. After reading the book and looking at the ruins, I found a bittersweet sense of admiration for a casino that seemed to be so important to so many people, and now is shortly about to be wiped away from existence forever.
   
   An interesting and sentimental read for those who enjoy the history of 1950's Vegas and enjoyed the casino itself.



2. I stayed at the "Dust" in the late 1960's and I always went back. If you ever stayed, you'll love this book. It covers all the TIMES, evn Lefty Rosenthal's time. If you look close, you'll see the current(2008) mayor Oscar Goodman at the defense table for Lefty. Mayor Goodman was Lefty's mouthpiece in the early days. Best of Times in Vegas and best wishes.
   St Louis Frank www.7dice7.com



3. My family went to Stardust at Las Vegas,NV from 1993 to 1996. I know Toucan Harry's restuarant. I saw Tony Roma's restuarant at stardust hotel and casino. I know Stardust Las Vegas closed Novemeber 1,2006 then demolished March 13,2007 before Echelon Place constrution. I remember Stardust Las Vegas from 1993 to 1996. I know new Echelon Place late 2010. I feel nearly 5,000 room Echelon Place (former Stardust Las Vegas). I know Stardust west tower build in 1991. I know Lido de Paris replace by Enter the Night at Stardust Las Vegas in 1992 before change to Wayne Newton in 1999. I know Stardust Las Vegas red and blue to white in late 1998.



4. As a kid my parents and my grandmother loved to go to Vegas. They must have went like once every other month and they usually stayed for a weekend. There was a small handful of casinos that they liked to visit, and one of them was the Stardust. So my memeories of this place run deep.
   
   So I was saddened to find out that the Stardust was already closed when I returned to Vegas in 2007. In this book you will find many colorful photos illustrating the rich and eventful history of this wonderful casino. I enjoyed seeing photos of old menus such as Toucan Harry's and even old match booklets. I wanted a little more out of this book as far as the writing goes, but still overall a nice keepsake of an old friend.

1 comments about Springs in the Desert: A Kid's History of Las Vegas.

1. Springs in the Desert is a great book for either local children in Nevada or children from other states wanting to learn more of the interesting history of Nevada in a fun kid friendly text that is both entertaining and educational.

3 comments about Old Heart Of Nevada: Ghost Towns And Mining Camps Of Elko County.

1. Shawn Hall obviously has a love of history and it's preservation. "Old Heart of Nevada: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Elko County" is obviously the result of 1000's of hours of research and countless miles of off-road exploration. Hall's account of these now vanished towns is both factual and facinating as he provides the history, stories, and current state of dozens of now defunct towns, mines, and ranch sites of the area.
   The text alone is worth the price for the facts and stories, but even better are the historical photos which can often be contrasted with the author's own photo's of the same area.
   A must-have for any Nevada historian or explorer.



2. All of Shawn Hall's books are excellent. We have used them for several years to plan trips and then go find the locations he mentions. He gives the reader not only the history of the site, but what remains today of the ghost towns, old stage stops, and railroad towns.



3. As with other books of this style and Author, There are no maps of any use nor are there GPS Coordinates. While instructions are included so the sites they are very vague and many depend on your finding a site your not interested in, in order to find the one you want. With so many dirt roads in mining area's the directions to turn left of a dirt road does not help with there could be 10 dirt roads in a span of three hundred feet.

1 comments about Norm Clarke's Vegas Confidential: Sinsational Celebrity Tales.

1. I haven't read the whole book yet, but want to make everyone aware of what they are buying. Is Norm Clarke interesting? No doubt. But just know that:
   1) this book is very small in size
   2) this book has a large amount of pictures that take up alot of that already small space
   3) alot of what is in this book is likely something you may already know if you follow this type of stuff

5 comments about Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the Twenty-First Century.

1. Boy, I'll tell you: there's nothing worse than a reviewer who either didn't read or can't understand a book. Neon Metroplis does not argue that Las Vegas is economically malleable at all. It says that Las Vegas thrives as a tourist town because the image it presents is malleable - that it can change to meet the trends. All you have to do is remember the so-called family era - with theme parks etc. - of a decade ago and look at the ads today: "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," to see that this is true.

   Neon Metropolis also says that Las Vegas is the one horse in a one-horse state; as anyone who followed 2003's tax debacle in Nevada could see, this is ever more true.

   Las Vegas' problems are real and Neon Metropolis is a lot more conversant with them than these two reviews suggest. This is by far the best book on Las Vegas.




2. Overall, Neon Metropolis presents an overview of the history and sociology of modern Las Vegas. Rothman's focus is on modern Las Vegas, so readers looking for more of a straightforward history starting before the twentieth century may be disappointed. This book is best for readers looking to understand the development of the modern casino and entertainment industry or for readers looking to understand how Las Vegas functions behind-the-scenes as a modern city.
   
   The book not only describes the development of gambling and entertainment along the Las Vegas Strip but also describes the immigration of people to Las Vegas and the problems caused by Las Vegas's high growth rate and desert location. Special attention is given to such simple things as the development of city infrastructure and the use of Hispanic immigrant labor, things that would otherwise be ignored in the history of any other city. Rothman thereby gives his readers a pespective into how both the casino industry developed and how the city as a whole developed. Rothman is also unafraid to critically analyze the problems facing Las Vegas as a modern day city, although his positions on some issues (such as labor unions) are clearly biased.
   
   Aside from questionable biased viewpoints on some issues, Neon Metropolis suffers from being written with poor English. Rothman's largest problem is that he writes sentences that are too long to be readable. It is sometimes difficult to determine what some sentences are trying to say. Rothman also likes to use very bad metaphors and cliches. It seems as though he is trying to be funny or clever, but instead he simply sounds trite. Additional organizational problems and grammatical errors further hinder this book's readability.
   
   In summary, I would recommend this book to readers who seriously wants to understand Las Vegas. For casual readers, however, I would recommend passing on this book unless the author produces a new version that includes some serious revisions.



3. I like the way Rothman writes. I also recognize that this is one man's view of how Las Vegas became what it is. I think anyone asking what happened to unions should read this book.



4. Rothman does a nice job pointing out what has proven to be the very effective economic engine of the modern American service industry. When organized labor meets the lucrative tourist industry, wages for folks with a high school education can indeed be quite solid. For those here that doubt the role of organized, unionized labor, simply compare the economy of southern Nevada to southern Louisiana. While New Orleans has a strong gaming industry, wages are bad, and poverty profoundly rampant. On this point, Professor Rothman is correct: Las Vegas, with it's robust mix of service economy and unionizatin, could point the way to the future.
   
   Professor Rothman does, however, tend to gloss over the nagging social ills inherent with the gaming industry. In particular, Nevada has spectacular suicide and divorce rates, sky-high spousal abuse and very, very high teenage dropout rates (comparable to inner city neighborhoods in east coast cities). He also misses the biggest problem of all: chronic gambling addiction among many casino workers and the wholesale, even arrogant, failure of the gaming industry to address the problem.
   
   It is somewhat ironic that Rothman, who does indeed have a background in environmental history, ignores many of Las Vegas' environmental issues. The vast sprawl of Las Vegas may well NOT be sustainable in an age of skyrocketing oil prices; a large percentage of Las Vegas visitors still arrive by car from Southern California, relying on an increasingly clogged 4 lane interstate (I-15). The city itself relies on just one pipeline to bring gasoline to the valley from southern California and local fuel prices are threatening to reach dangerously historic highs this year.
   
   Rothman is also blithely unconcerned about water. Climate Change is predicted to make the US southwest far drier than it is today. Indeed, the region is currently suffering under a years-long drought that has taken reservoirs to insidiously low levels. Both Lake Meade, just an hour's drive south of the city, and Lake Powell, between central Arizona and central Utah, are at dangerous, historically low levels. Despite extremely strict residential water usage restrictions in southern Nevada, lack of water could well derail growth in the Las Vegas metropolitan area within the next decade, particularly if the current drought persists.
   
   Rothman's anecdotes often miss serious underlying sociological issues. Sure, you can find stories of community in virtually any city or neighborhood, but Rothman's often cutsy anecodotes miss the big picture. The state suffers an intense brain drain. Many of it's young residents leave state to attend college and if they receive a master's degree or higher, very few will ever return. The city is profoundly transient, and the exaggerated suburban sprawl of the new "instant city" variety has its drawbacks.
   
   The average tenure of home ownership is very brief in Las Vegas: even residents who live their entire lives in the city tend to move once or twice to flee declining neighborhoods. Shiny new (but rapidly and poorly constructed) suburban tracts fall from middle to working class and even into crime-ridden lower working class neighborhoods in 25 years or less. Rings of impoverished, aging inner suburbs are causing grief for city planners as the middle class flees a growing core of decaying housing for newer digs in the outer sprawl. In eastern cities, historic buildings and brownstones in the inner core drew a new generation of college educated adults willing to restore and rediscover neighborhoods. Cookie-cutter, cinder block nightmare neighborhoods, thrown together by careless contractors in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are less easily renovated or rediscovered.
   
   Finally, Rothman misses the macro-economic taxation issues. Because Nevada relies almost solely on the gaming and sales taxes to run the state, the state is extremely vulnerable should a real recession hit.
   
   Rothman, ultimately, misses as much as he hits. The landbreaking sociological study of the modern gaming town, sadly, remains to be written.



5. As a casual visitor to the Las Vegas strip, I found myself wondering what was going on behind all the glitz of the casino hotels. I wanted to understand the cost of the fantasy. After reading Rothman's book, I feel like I have a better grasp. It answered a lot of questions I had as I was cruising down Las Vegas Boulevard. Where does all the money come from? Where does it go? What is the environmental cost of all the water in the fountains? How well are all these blackjack dealers, cocktail waitresses, cooks and housekeepers treated?
   
   More of a historical and geographical chronicle than a sociological report, the book tries to present a very organic view of the city by following the history of its growth. I want to make it clear that this is a book with a very specific topic: how Las Vegas became a tumbleweed railroad town to a metropolis with a culture and economy rivaling Phoenix and even L.A. There are about 60 pages devoted to the casino strip, its former mob days and its modern showiness, but the vast majority of the book is devoted to the more mundane but crucial issues that prove that Las Vegas is a real urban center.
   
   The book is divided into three sections: a section about the economic, cultural and political incentives for people to move to Las Vegas, a section about the types of people who have moved to Las Vegas by the tens of thousands each year in the 1990s, and a final section devoted to the environmental, geographical and social impact that Las Vegas's hyperactive growth has caused. Chief topics are the casino economy, libertarian politics, labor unions, retirement communities, illegal immigrants, water rights, highways and homeowners associations.
   
   If the whole picture of Las Vegas is what interests you, not just the intrigue and vice, you will find this book both informative and pleasant to read. Though some of the topics I listed seem pretty mundane, they are presented with a lot of emotional investment. Rothman compares in this way to the pop sociology writers, like Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser. Keep in mind, though, that one of the reasons that this book is so entertaining is that it is just an overview; you might feel that it doesn't go quite as much into detail as you would like at some points. But that's the case with any 320 page book dealing with such a vast topic.
   
   I would agree with another reviewer in saying that a major flaw in this book is its writing. While it's clear that Rothman writes in plain, understandable English and writes with much better-than-average energy, zest and emotional insight, the book is plagued with missing words, awkward phrasings and the occasional completely incomprehensible sentence. It could have stood to be edited a bit more.
   
   On the other hand, these mistakes, though more frequent than in most books I have read, are not frequent enough to really make that much of a difference. They're more a noticeable curiosity than they are anything frustrating.
   
   To sum up:
   I give this book 4/5 as a history and urban studies book, for being both a pleasure to read (a huge challenge for history books) and informative. It is recommended for those who are questing for true insight into the realities of modern Las Vegas and the American city. If you're only interested in reading about the city's gambling, mobsters, burlesque shows and buffets, either borrow the book to read only the first 60 pages, or look elsewhere.

5 comments about Every Farm Tells a Story: A Tale of Family Farm Values.

1. Jerry Apps magnificently captures the heart and soul of growing up on a small family farm in EVERY FARM TELLS A STORY. His youth was spent in rural central Wisconsin half-a-century ago, but the character of the culture he writes about was not unlike that of much of rural Middle America in those times. The book is based on his Ma's journal accounting of all the family's expenses and revenues through the years, but the anecdotes take you back to all the stories behind those numbers. Apps shares with us how all the entries were, indeed, more than just numbers - they had meaning and context in the bigger picture of what farm life was all about. In a comfortable and enjoyable style, he tells stories of family values, the hard times and good times, the honest dealings and fair play that caused most farm kids back then to grow up with integrity and a solid work ethic. EVERY FARM TELLS A STORY is a great read, but it's much more than just nostalgia. In a personal and sometimes almost poetic way, it documents a significant part of our country's historical heritage.



2. I loved this book on American farm life! It is well-written, interesting and one of the best on this subject, in my opinion. I have just ordered several other of Jerry Apps books.



3. This book is worth every penny! It makes great bedtime reading as the chapters are short, and Jerry Apps is brilliant with a pen. The real tales of his hard-working family and their farm are immensely enjoyable. I would highly recommend this one.



4. I was lucky enough to be brought up on a small family dairy farm in WI. My folks, older siblings, and relatives talked wistfully about the threshing crews, haymaking, and dealing with the cows. The author did a good job documenting the way a WI dairy farm ran in the 1950's and how it impacted and shaped a family.



5. This is an excellent book if you grew up on a farm in the 50's and 60's. I read it cover to cover. It's an "easy read"; hard to put down...like a good novel. It brought me back to the good old days!

No comments about Resort City in the Sunbelt, Las Vegas, 1930-2000, Second Edition.

5 comments about Sun, Sin And Suburbia: An Essential History Of Modern Las Vegas.

1. Sun, Sin and Suburbia is an interesting, well-written and impeccably researched volume. As a non-Las Vegan I would have liked to read more about the Mob; the Culinary Union's struggles; Howard Hughes and Steve Wynn, and less about residential communities. Whilst the book added to my knowledge of Sin City, it fell short of its promise to be "An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas".



2. Schumacher has packed his account of Las Vegas full of insightful and interesting facts that other books about Las Vegas often lack. He demonstrates his intelligent, talented prose in providing a balanced perspective of the more familiar side of Las Vegas, the casino industry, while offering inside information on the development of southern Nevada, home to more than 1.6 million people. The book is well organized, and can be read in whole, or by choosing one of eleven chapters that each independently address a specific topic of Las Vegas history and its future. Those of us who live here will find useful insight on people and places we encounter regularly, as well as enlightening historical information on the people who came before us. Non-residents will gain fascinating and insightful facts beyond what is commonly known about Las Vegas. It's a great read.



3. Geoff Schumacher's "Sun,Sin,Suburbia" is a well written book that takes a look into the history of Las Vegas over the last twenty years. Written with a historians attention to detail, "Sun, Sin, Suburbia" is also a very fun read for any who are interested in Las Vegas and the rise and domination of corporations lead by men like Steve Wynn.



4. I purchased this book on my last trip to Las Vegas and found it be well researched, factual and informative.
   
   I preferred the first half of the book, which provided a brief run down of the casinos, both on and off the strip, to the second half, which detailed the development of the communities within and around Las Vegas. While I found the chapters on Summerlin, Henderson and North Las Vegas interesting, I feel that they could have been condensed into one chapter and more information provided on the history of the casinos, particularly the ones that have been imploded to make way for the new resorts.
   
   Overall, I found this book to be a good read and recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about Las Vegas other than just the strip casinos.



5. Geoff Schumacher, a local Vegas newspaper reporter, does a good job of bringing the story of Las Vegas to life in Sun, Sin & Suburbia. He is perfectly qualified to write this book, however the title of this book is misleading because he focuses mainly on local real estate development and city planning issues. His coverage of the history of casino development on the Strip is cursory, but informative. Where he's strongest is in his description of the developments of Summerlin and the other suburbs around Vegas. The book is 60% Suburbia, and 30% casinos, with zero sin.
   
   If you're looking for the "story" of Vegas including gangsters, big-time casino developers and all the color of Vegas, this is the wrong book. It takes someone with a very keen interest in the details of real estate development in Clark County to stay with the author. In this area, his work is peerless among the many books about Vegas history. My suspicion is this book will be more interesting to long-time Vegas residents than to visitors.
   
   This book was written in 2004, as Vegas was still enjoying its multi-decade mega boom in real estate and casino development. Despite the steady trend for decades, the future is never certain. An example of this is my favorite quote from the book, when the author predicts continued strong growth: "The next five years are pretty much such in stone. We know what will happen..."

5 comments about Quiet Kingmaker of Las Vegas: E. Parry Thomas.

1. This book is an outstanding read about the one man that saw the potential of Las Vegas from almost the beginning. Don't miss this easy read and informative histoy of the building of Las Vegas.



2. I might have heard Parry Thomas's name in one of the many times I've been in Las Vegas, but I can't be sure of that. So when I picked up "The Quiet Kingmaker" - I was a blank slate - no preconceived notions, no idea what kind of story author Jack Sheehan had to tell. I was hoping for some behind the scenes scoops on the making of this fascinating town...and I got 'em.
   
   This book is the book that people who watch the Las Vegas channel, I mean, The Travel Channel, need to read. There are amazing stories in here of very famous names and many not so famous names, coming together to create this unlikely city in the desert; and behind an incredible number of those deals, was banker and investor Parry Thomas.
   
   Thomas started coming to Las Vegas in 1952, and moved there with his family soon after. He was an incredibly hard working visionary who saw the potential of Las Vegas in ways that few others did. With hard work, a brilliant mind and a wonderful way with people, he made changes in Las Vegas (and Nevada) that helped make the city what it is today.
   
   He is very clear that the only reasons he's telling these stories now are because most of the people involved are dead, and for the city's historical record. Thomas mentions several times that he prized confidentiality for his clients above all else, and one can still sense reticence behind his words. We're getting more of the story than has ever been told, but probably not all of it. Which is fine...some secrets need to stay in those dark, smoke filled back rooms. No one wants all of Vegas in the light...
   
   Thomas, from all the accounts given by the names in this book such as Steve and Elaine Wynn, Bill Boyd and Michael Milken (to name only a few), was a wonderful, trusting and honest man. He cared deeply about doing the right thing by all parties of a deal, and his handshake meant more than a signed contract. And yet - there are unspoken stories in this book that remind the reader that we are talking about doing business in Las Vegas...which means something different than doing business anywhere else.
   
   Thomas tells this story about a restaurateur to whom he refused a loan: "...the guy eventually got so mad he took out newspaper ads criticizing me and he passed out flyers all through my neighborhood and downtown criticizing me and saying that I was a bad banker and a bad person. I had to figure out a way to shut him up, and so I called this little guy who worked at the Sands. His name was Aaron Weisberg. He was a wonderful fellow. I knew that Aaron had a lot of clout with some important tough guys, so I asked Aaron if he could do anything about this guy who was threatening me. All the hassling just stopped cold the next day."
   
   Thomas also had quite a few dealings with Howard Hughes, which make for fascinating reading. "...In sum, that's exactly how the richest man in America was allowed to stay in a hotel owned by the biggest gamblers in America, by the most outstanding lawyer in Washington agreeing to write a brief for the most notorious labor leader in the country. Now there's a four-way parlay for you."
   
   The author, Sheehan, uses a very deft touch bringing Thomas's voice to the forefront of all of the stories. He then brings in many, many of the other players in the deals to corroborate or further clarify details. The timeline of the stories flow well, taking the reader from the early fifties in Vegas to modern day. (Although Parry Thomas now lives in Hailey, Idaho, "just one state removed from Nevada, (but) if a person were to measure the distance by electrical wattage and human energy, this farming community of 6,000 full time residents is more than a million miles away from the blinding glow of Las Vegas at night.")
   
   Parry Thomas seems to be a humble man, not looking for the spotlight even given his success and the influence he's had over one of the major cities in America. (Which is probably why I, and hundreds of thousands of the visitors to Vegas have never heard his name.) But there is one accomplishment of his in this book that bears the distinct stamp of pride, and it might be the biggest part of what Vegas is today. "I'm the guy that got the Mob out of Las Vegas, with getting the legislation passed to have corporate gaming and putting in the safeguards such as anybody with over five percent interest in the place having to stand for licensing. It didn't say you had to be licensed, just that you had to stand for it and be investigated for it and so on. And the thing that got the Mob out quicker than anything else was that passing that law, because before that the corporations couldn't come in. If I'm insistent about taking the credit for that, it's because I did it all by myself and it took years of hard work and negotiating with the Legislature to make it happen."
   
   This is a great book, one that tells previously unknown stories, one that explains the behind the scenes details of the making of Las Vegas, but stays true to the Vegas we all imagine it was. It has the best of what is Vegas: the money, the names, the danger and the excitement.
   
   "One thing I'd learned about guys like Moe is that you never lie or evade anything. I said, "Moe, you're absolutely right. I did figure it out for your best interests. I'm going to have Howard Hughes buy this hotel. You're trying to sell it and I'm going to get you a fair price." Moe sat there for several long minutes without saying a word. He then stood up and turned around and pointed his finger in my chest and said, "You better!" And he stormed off."
   
   That's power. That's the story of a quiet kingmaker.



3. This country has always been fascinated by Las Vegas...It is so far from the main stream day to day life most people endure. It is really interesting to meet the originators of this amazing city.
   
   The author has done a great job of getting to the true character of one of the real movers and shakers of the top tourist attractions on earth.



4. 
   Let's try to imagine Las Vegas without Parry Thomas, who was the first to lend money to Las Vegas casinos and one of the driving forces in the city's growth and philanthropy. From the mid-1950s, no banks lend money to casinos, so they can't grow any bigger than two or three hundred rooms. Mainstream financiers aren't interested in investing in such dodgy joints, so its possible that, in the 1960s, there's no influx of outside capital into the business. Without Thomas' intervention, it's possible that Howard Hughes doesn't choose to stay in Nevada after Moe Dalitz tries to evict him from the Desert Inn in December 1966. Steve Wynn still comes to Las Vegas in 1967 at the Frontier, but without Thomas' encouragement it's entirely possible that he and Elaine decide that they're going to return to the East Coast and try their luck in another business. At the very least, there's no Roger Thomas to help design Wynn's resorts (Roger is Parry's son). In the late 1960s, there's no one to champion the corporate gambling acts, or to persuade Bill Harrah to drop his opposition to them, so you don't get publicly-traded companies owning casinos. UNLV is likely either crammed into 55 acres on Maryland Parkway (instead of the 400 it currently operates) or divided into several campuses throughout the valley.
   
   There's still a city there, and it probably has a casino industry, but it's going to look much different, and probably not for the better. That's the impact that Thomas had.
   
   Onto the book itself: it's not a biography in the usual sense, but rather a combination autobiography and oral history. Basically, Thomas talks about his life, and friends, family members, and business associates chime in. Sheehan, as an author, yields the spotlight to Thomas and the others. It's hard to imagine that there was a better way to do this book. Thomas, like Steve Wynn, is a master storyteller, with a keen recall and an eye for detail that will gratify the reader.
   
   There is introductory material about Thomas' youth and young adulthood in Utah, and closing material on Thomas' family life, but most of this book is a personal history of Las Vegas 1955-1995 or so, as told by Thomas with others adding their perspective when appropriate. As such, it might be one of the most important books about Las Vegas history that you'll ever read. Thomas sets the record straight on many fronts and is candid about his battles with the IRS and his dealings with alleged organized crime figures.
   
   Without Thomas, Las Vegas as we know it would not exist. It's fortunate that he was persuaded to share the story of his life and career, both so that his contributions are not forgotten and so that students of history have a better idea of what really went on in Las Vegas as it grew into prominence.



5. Fascinating information about this unique and virtually unknown builder and visionary of Las Vegas. He was as important as anyone for the direction and success of a city that will never be duplicated again in history. My major criticisms are that there was way too much repetition of the same information and too much time was spent at end of the book about his retirement activities. It leaves us wanting to know more about the man in his productive years. The secret deals. The men of questionable character that he had to deal with on a daily basis. I think he held back volumes of information that we are dying to know about. It's a shame that now that the man is gone, so many questions will never be answered.