Las Vegas: An Unconventional History [Hardcover]

Michelle Ferrari (Author), Stephen Ives (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2005

From Mormon missionaries to mega-casinos, from Bugsy Siegel to Wayne Newton, and from natural springs to atomic blasts, this companion book to a three-hour PBS "American Experience "documentary presents 100 years of sin, gin, and din. 250 images.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Coffee-table format proves advantageous to this colorful, far-ranging tome on America's capital of civilized sin. Ferrari and Ives start at the beginning of modern Las Vegas, describing the city's hardscrabble origins and the huge local tourism market that changes in American leisure, the proximity of spectacular Hoover Dam, and the legal status of gambling fostered in the early twentieth century. The many illustrations include plenty of vintage poolside shots and examples of letterhead stationery and other accoutrements of the Flamingo, the big casino built by mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel that sparked the building boom of plush gambling houses. Speaking of Bugsy, one whole chapter deals with the mobster involvement for which Vegas is nearly as famous as for gambling. Among tangential phenomena addressed are marriage mills, neon-infused architecture, the Rat Pack, and the civic-value triumvirate of "sin, gin, and din." A chapter on Vegas' commonalities with the nuclear industry provides little-known perspective on the Vegas mind-set, and the epilogue addresses the city's future. Ferrari and Ives nicely capture the uniqueness of a unique place. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Anyone who’s ever been fascinated by Las Vegas and its glamorous-yet-seedy history will find this book captivating. " -- www.nightsandweekends.com, 2005

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch (October 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821257145
• ISBN-13: 978-0821257142
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 1 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > History > Historical Study > Essays

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting!, March 21, 2006

By 

Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (Hardcover)

"Las Vegas" provides interesting photos and verbiage covering Las Vegas from its initial start, through the building of Boulder/Hoover Dam, establishment as a "suburb" of L.A., attraction for "quickie" (6 week) divorces, the mob's influx, atomic testing, the "Rat Pack," attraction as a "marriage mill," Howard Hughes, Steven Wynn, imploding old landmarks, and finally the building of new hotels with unique tourist attractions (eg. volcano, pirate ship, art displays, fountains).

Ives also provides several interesting statistical tidbits - Las Vegas slot machines have paid out as much as $40 million to a single winner, and by '04 provided about 2/3 of Las Vegas casino revenue; in '76 nearly half the gross revenue of the 163-hotel Hilton chain came from its 2 L.V. properties; L.V. has 20 of the world's largest 23 hotels; and during the '90s non-gambling revenues began exceeding gambling revenues in Las Vegas.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cool Coffee Table Book about Sin City, January 2, 2006

By 

The JuRK (Our Vast, Cultural Desert) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongly Recommended, April 16, 2009

By 

J. Cox "JPurr" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Las Vegas: An Unconventional History (Hardcover)

I bought this book about a year ago when I moved to Las Vegas. It is an extremely interesting and thorough history of the town and it is an easy read. Great reference material for my library. I couldn't put it down. Definitely worth the $40 I paid - a steal at the bargain price.