Las Vegas: An Unconventional History
by Michelle Ferrari, Stephen Ives
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michelle Ferrari, Stephen IvesEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-20
ISBN: 0821257145
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Bulfinch
Book Reviews of Las Vegas: An Unconventional History
Book Review: Cool Coffee Table Book about Sin City
Summary: 4 Stars
I haven't seen the PBS documentary that spawned this companion book, but the book is worth reading and having if you're interested in the history of Las Vegas.
The book covers the founding of Vegas as a town, the construction of Hoover Dam, the flourishing of the Mob, the testing of the atom bomb (120 detonations around 65 miles of Vegas throughout the 1950s!), the Rat Pack, the Howard Hughes period and the Disney-fication of Sin City.
The obligatory PBS Politically Correct chapter on African Americans in Vegas was actually very fascinating. I knew that Sammy Davis Jr. wasn't allowed to stay in the hotels where he performed in the '50s--which was shameful enough--but to read that the Flamingo drained the pool after the gorgeous Dorothy Dandridge swam in it and Lena Horne's sheets were burned rather than put in the laundry ("We don't want to offend the Texans," was the hotel's lame excuse) is shocking and disgraceful.
Definitely a coffe table book with great photos and thick pages. I wish there had been more photos though. As a regular Vegas visitor, I know that town could provide many, many more.
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