The Las Vegas we know was conceived - if anybody really conceived it - in 1931, when Nevada liberalized its divorce and gambling laws, which would ultimately transform the city into America's playground for grown-ups. It was also the year an unprecedented engineering project began, that would turn the Colorado River from a wild killer stream to a wild reservoir that waters not only California vegetables but also sprawling Las Vegas suburbs. From 1905 to 1931, Las Vegas was still a tiny oasis in a big, dangerous desert. Its isolated people made their own swamp coolers, their own entertainment and sometimes their own whiskey. The author, Joan Burkhardt Whitely, enlisted older Las Vegans to help capture the memories of a Mojave Mayberry where neighbors took care of each other, not merely because no one else would, but because it was their hometown, and they cared.
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About the Author
Joan Burkhart Whitely moved to Las Vegas in 1985 to work as a reporter for The Nevadan, where she profiled interesting Las Vegans and publicized the history of the region. Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1954, Whitely earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1982. Currently Whitely is a writer in the Las Vegas Review-Journal features department.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brava!,
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This review is from: Young Las Vegas: 1905-1931: Before the Future Found Us (Hardcover)
What a wonderful book! Lots of rare photos, nicely presented in a large format, on glossy paper. It's very attractive. And well-written, with anecdotes about early Las Vegas, a very engaging narrative.
My only quibble: since the dates are tightly defined, the writer is confined to stories involving many of the same people; it's all basically one generation. As names are introduced again in subsequent chapters, it gets a little redundant. But it's also honest journalism: some VIPs were more prominent and productive than others. The stories Ms. Whitely conveys are enormously entertaining, from the lofty Senator who brought the railroad to town, to the price of a call girl during the decades when prostitution was legal, plus plenty more. This beautiful book would make a wonderful gift.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Young Las Vegas Review,
By Alexis Lozano (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Young Las Vegas: 1905-1931: Before the Future Found Us (Hardcover)
Joan Whitely's Young Las Vegas is a wonderful book for the living room historian. Joan's writing style and vision of how the book should be read keeps it light and entertaining throughout the text. Rather than being a boring chronology Young Las Vegas is more of a `day in the life' of the different people who shaped the budding center of the world. The text is supplemented by amazing photography and interesting anecdotes that hook the reader into the history of an amazing town.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful coffee table book,
By doogiebrown (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Young Las Vegas: 1905-1931: Before the Future Found Us (Hardcover)
Highly informative and visually pleasing large format book. I loved the layout and the pictures throughout. The writing is superb and holds interest on every page. Can't say enough about this early history of Las Vegas!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In 2005, stubborn people are willing to "camp" in line for hours to snag a scarce concert ticket or a lot in a desirable housing subdivision. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
history piece, oral historian Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Las Vegans, Von Tobel, Squires Boyer, Clark County, Hoover Dam, Southern Nevada, Union Pacific, Fremont Street, Chavez Sprague, Colorado River, Helen Stewart, Mount Charleston, Robert Underhill, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Railroad, San Pedro, Stella Champo, World War, Shirley Ferron Swanson, Leon Rockwell, Main Street, Outside World, Walter Bracken New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In 2005, stubborn people are willing to "camp" in line for hours to snag a scarce concert ticket or a lot in a desirable housing subdivision. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
history piece, oral historian Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Las Vegans, Von Tobel, Squires Boyer, Clark County, Hoover Dam, Southern Nevada, Union Pacific, Fremont Street, Chavez Sprague, Colorado River, Helen Stewart, Mount Charleston, Robert Underhill, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Railroad, San Pedro, Stella Champo, World War, Shirley Ferron Swanson, Leon Rockwell, Main Street, Outside World, Walter Bracken New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
- Family Life (Story Line Press Poetry Series) by Colette Inez on page 76
- Death Valley (Apache) by William M. James on page 201
- The Chicago White Sox (Team Spirit) (Team Spirit (Norwood)) by Mark Stewart on page 172
- The Merchant of Venice (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare on page 124
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