Customer Reviews

The Grit Beneath the Glitter: Tales from the Real Las Vegas

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This book consists of 22 articles and over 60 b&w photos covering organized labor, feminism, and state politics. It is uneven in style and tone, ranging from first-person narratives to academic essays. The focus of the book is the city's underclass, which seems to be defined as unionized casino workers. (Many of these writers are oblivious that there are several strata of less-well-off people below unionized employees.) Much of the book is a paean to organized labor. For example, the longest article is titled "The Recent History of the Culinary Union in Las Vegas." Entrepreneurs are the villains of this book, while the heros are union leaders and (perversely) mafioso - there is some nostalgia for the good old days when gangsters ran a tight ship and took care of the little people.

The most touching essay is by Constance Devereaux who writes of her experiences conducting a class inside a Nevada prison, juxtaposed with her finding the body of her murdered husband in their bedroom as a result of a bungled burglary.