Las Vegas : An Unconventional History

by Ferrari, Michelle; Ives, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780821257142
• ISBN10: 0821257145
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-20
• Publisher: Bulfinch

Summary

Companion book to the PBS American Experience documentary: Vegas, baby! One hundred years of sin, gin, and din. From Bugsy Siegel to the Rat Pack and Wayne Newton, from its glamorous showgirls to its fantastic mega-casinos and legendary displays of dazzling neon, Las Vegas is the worlds most famous monument to reckless abandon and unbridled excess. Written in conjunction with the PBS American Experience series and coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the city, Las Vegas: An Unconventional History documents the endlesssly entertaining history of this most outrageous playgroundfrom the Mormon missionaries who came to the area for the natural springs, to the shady mob-connected gamblers, atomic blasts, and the tourists of today looking for fun that can only be found there. Accompanying the fascinating text are essays from four of todays most prominent writers, highlighting some of the more interesting aspects of Las Vegas, such as David Hickeys Lights and Jim McManus, writing on the art of poker. Lavishly illustrated and wittily written, Las Vegas: An Unconventional History is almost as fun as letting that $10,000 bet ride on red.

Author Biography

Michelle Ferrari is an award-winning writer for documentaries, including the critically acclaimed Seabiscuit, Reporting America at War, and Out of the Past, the winner of the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Award.
Stephen Ives is one of the nation's leading documentary filmmakers, listing Baseball and The Civil War among the pieces he has co-produced. His landmark series The West was one of the most praised documentaries in recent history.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 6
The Least Likely to Succeed	p. 11
Gateway to the Boulder Dam	p. 27
Essay: Poqas to No-Limit Hold 'Em	p. 42
Sidebar: Slots	p. 48
A Far-Flung Suburb of L.A.	p. 55
The Flamingo	p. 70
Essay: Lights	p. 86
Sidebar: Neon	p. 92
Mobster Metropolis	p. 99
Atomic City, U.S.A.	p. 115
The Heart of This Unspiritual Mecca	p. 127
Essay: The Rat Pack	p. 152
Sidebar: Weddings	p. 158
The Color That Mattered Most	p. 165
The Capital of Sin, Gin, and Din	p. 177
That Billion-Dollar Baby	p. 191
Essay: The Juice	p. 202
Sidebar: Architecture	p. 208
Singed City	p. 213
The Most Visited Place on Earth	p. 225
Sidebar: Water	p. 240
All-American City	p. 245
Epilogue: Las Vegas, City of the Future	p. 256
For Further Reading	p. 260
Sources	p. 261
Photo Credits	p. 262
Acknowledgments	p. 263
Index	p. 266
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.