Nevada Books

Desert to Dream is a remarkable accomplishment -- a
stunning tapestry of images and words that appears in
essence to be a mystery play. I am amazed at the
visual, emotional and spiritual complexity of her work
that evokes deep contemplation. The book is very well
laid out and I like how the diptychs are paired, even
in some instances where there is a b&w and color photo
side by side. Traub's sense of style and composition
is dynamic and goes way beyond the usual ways of
seeing. Congratulations on such an extraordinary book.

Ellen Bascom
Houston, TX

The photographs in Desert to Dream: A Decade of Burning Man Photography
by Barbara Traub convey the special and unique personality of the annual
Burning Man Festival. They also convey the humanity, sense of community
and the unique artistic sensibilities of the participants. The photographs
are excellent in their own right and are a sensitive mixture of color and
black and white. There are several pictures of nude women and men, which are real tributes to human beauty. Also, toward the end of the book, many of the photographs portray surrealistic images that only an expert photographer like Barbara Traub would be capable of. This book is well
worth the investment, not only for those interested in Burning Man, but also
those interested in photography that is spectacular.

Desert to Dream is a remarkable accomplishment -- a stunning tapestry of images and words that appears in essence to be a mystery play. I am amazed at the visual, emotional and spiritual complexity of her work that evokes deep contemplation. The book is very well laid out and I like how the diptychs are paired, even in some instances where there is a b&w and color photo side by side. Traub's sense of style and composition is dynamic and goes way beyond the usual ways of seeing. Congratulations on such an extraordinary book.

Ellen Bascom
Houston, TX

Wow, what a dissapointment - it hardly captures the magic of Burning Man. With only a couple exceptions, the photos in this book are middling to poor. Most of the pictures of people are of the back of their heads. The pictures of art and vehicles are often framed poorly or feature distracting shadows. The night pictures are blurry and amateurish. There are a lot of great burning man photos out there (see the burning man website); I find it hard to believe this got published and even sanctioned with (a generic) blurb by Larry Harvey.

Having attended Burning Man twice (in 2003 and 2005), and having connected to the amazing experience that it represents for the mind and the body, I am glad to see a book that is capable of capturing most of the images that trigger our senses. Good any time of the day ... it's best alongside your breakfast, helping you carrying the 'burn every day' philosophy throughout your day and evening.

Mahogany is a rookie to love--shy, innocent, beautiful and embarking on the road of life. Eager to leave home, she begins a dazzling relationship filled with torrid heartbreak and hot-tumultuous love. From childhood innocence to extraordinary woman, Mahogany triumphs over heartbreak. Her best friend, Shanice, as passionate to spread her wings, discovers herself torn between two lovers and finds herself questioning her own sexuality. Mahogany and Shanice are fighters, women ruled by their hearts who love to take chances...ultimately finding themselves caught up

Let me first say this book was the worst edited novel I've ever read!!

Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's get to the plot of Nevada York's Caught Up. The story revolves around best friends Mahogany and Shanice, childhood chums who have been thick and thin together. Now as college-aged adults, they're dealing with such issues as love, fidelity (or lack thereof), bisexualty, marriage, and parenthood. The novel then ties in a web of intrigue wherein Mahogany is being stalked.

The plot could have been decent, but overall it was just cheesy. Read for yourself, though ... maybe you like cheese.

Nevada York's book was pretty good. I have to admit I saw some of myself in her book. I think most women can honestly say they have been where Mahogany (the central character) has been. I wish I would have read this book before I met my boyfriend. Maybe then, I would have recognized his game...
Great job, Nevada! Please hurry write a sequel, I GOT to know what happens to everyone!! Hurry!

I READ NEVADA YORK'S CAUGHT UP AND IT WAS A GOOD READ. IT KEPT ME WANTING TO TURN THE PAGE TO SEE WHAT THE CHARACTERS WERE GOING TO DO NEXT! IT MADE ME INTERESTED IN READING OTHER BOOKS FROM THIS AUTHOR BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THIS IS HER ONLY BOOK TO DATE..SO NEVADA HURRY UP WITH THAT SECOND BOOK!

I accidently ordered the wrong book, I thought I was getting Caught Up by Winston Chapman but instead I received this Nevada York book. All I can say is Wow! I had to take the book to work with me to finish and I enjoyed every minute of it. Nevada has a unique style that I have never read before. If some readers are put off by her style, that unfortunate. They are missing out on a great book.

I'm a graduate student in geophysics. Some may argue that a geophysicist has no license to criticise a geologist or vice versa, but here goes nothing. :)

Moore begins with an interesting anecdotal account of the early mapping and exploration of the high Sierra. I found this interesting, but then again, I had not read much of this history previously. There are certainly other historical texts out there, so the question to ask yourself is: are there better ones? I don't know the answer.

Before I knew it, the book had morphed into what I took for a geology textbook. A bit too esoteric to be considered general-interest, but certainly not written for a Ph.D. geologist. It smelled an awful lot like an introductory undergraduate geology text, and I've read others that are much more lucid than this one.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment was the photography. Lacking, to say the least. Since Moore's historical coverage ceases before the advent of modern photography, I suppose this is understandable.

In closing: I wasn't quite sure what this text aspired to. As a historical text, I'd say that it was worth the paperback price. As a geology text, I don't think it was worth much. As a photography book, it was worth even less.

Moore's book is the result of a lifetime spent studying and mapping the geologic structures of the Sierra. It is an incredible achievement and an important contribution to a detailed understanding of the geology of the Sierra for the amateur naturalist. As literature and science, it's a worthy successor to Matthes's Geologic History of the Yosemite Valley (USGS Prof. Paper #160). He includes terrific chapters on the work of the first scientists to study the range and then describes current knowledge about the creation of the Sierra: from the collision of tectonic plates to the retreat of the last glaciers.

As an added bonus, Moore includes an appendix with detailed geologic comments for stopping points along several roads and trails in the Sequoia-Kings area: Highway 180 from Clovis to Cedar Grove; Highway 198 from Visalia and over the Generals Highway; the Mineral King road; the High Sierra Trail from Lodgepole to it's intersection with the John Muir Trail near Mt. Whitney; and, the John Muir Trail from Mt. Whitney to where it leaves Kings Canyon in the Evolution Valley region, 100 miles north.

Although Moore concentrates his narrative mostly to the area of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (where, as luck would have it, I work as a ranger), anyone interested in the geology of the Sierra would find this book useful for its explanation of the major granitic and metamorphic structures we see throughout the range. It's large format makes it unlikely you'd want to slip it into your backpack as a field guide. It's also probably of interest only to the serious amateur, though I think it's photos and organization make it accessible to a beginner who might just want to skim some of the detailed sections.

The author of Exploring the Highest Sierra first backpacked across Sequoia National Park, via Mt. Whitney, in 1947. He went on to earn a PhD in geology with his research based on the geologic structure of the highest Sierra - the crest from Mt. Langley on the south through the Palisades region to the north that includes all of the Sierra's 14,000' peaks and a sea of other high mountains, lakes and meadows - and then had a long, successful career as a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He clearly loves and is highly expert about this mountain range, the highest in the 48 coterminous United States, and the surrounding Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park.

My personal experience in this region consists of three backpacking trips - including peak bagging and off trail travel - that totaled perhaps three weeks within the so-called Highest Sierra. I looked forward to reading this 427-page book, which has very wide margins and lots of blank space, in hopes of not just learning more about it but to get ideas and inspirations for additional "explorations" of the area on my own. Unfortunately the book turned out to be less than I hoped for.

Nearly a third of the pages are devoted to chapters about the original Euro-American exploration and mapping of the region, especially the 1860s-90s work of the California Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey and its predecessors. Apart from the detailed coverage of progressively more accurate mapping efforts over the years, most of the characters - Whitney, King, Hoffman, Muir, etc. - are well know to anyone who is generally familiar with the 19th Century exploration of the Sierra (all of them explored and mapped the Yosemite region and elsewhere in the Sierra). These chapters have a lot of interesting photographs of the explorers, their equipment and so forth that I haven't seen elsewhere.

The remaining chapters are mostly hard core geology. And much of it is very technical to the lay reader. There are a lot of aerial photographs originally taken to document the region for mapping or geologic research, detailed photographs of rock strata and structures and numerous textbook-type graphs and charts of geologic phenomenon. A typical exhibit (6.21 in the 54-page chapter titled Granitic Rocks) consists of a set of eight graphs - admittedly incomprehensible to me - that plot the occurrence of silica (SiO2) against eight different chemicals found in hundreds of rock samples throughout the region's mountains. There are dozens of similar charts, graphs and scattergrams. I have to rate a lot of this information as either inaccessible or simply technical overkill for the non-geologist. It's far more detailed than most non-geologist visitors to the region will ever want to know.

This author's idea of an "exploration" of the highest Sierra is almost exclusively geologists and geology. There is virtually nothing about plants, animals, lakes, weather, wildfire, etc., etc. And nary a description of a mountaintop sunrise, a flowery meadow or any of the other charms that still make "exploring" this region so attractive to hikers, riders, climbers and skiers today.

Recommended to anyone seeking an overview of 19th Century geologic study and mapping along with a textbook on the geologic phenomenon - especially rock structure and chemistry - of the highest portion of the south-central Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Not recommended for those who want a generalized natural history overview of the region or want ideas and inspiration for planning their own trips into the high country of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. I note that most of the other reviewers of this book who rate it higher than I do seem to be professional geologists. And although Amazon does not seem to be stocking this, it can be found at the Yosemite Association's online bookstore.

This is an excellent book! The geology portion is easily understandable for the layman, yet still interesting enough for the professional geologist. The great historical and geological infromation make this a wonderful resource for anyone spending any time in the Sierra Nevadas. If you have any interest in geology and history, and you intend to spend any time in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, then you really Need this book!

James Moore has compiled a fantastic account of the earliest history, exploration, mapping, mining, politics and geology of the Seqouia - Kings Canyon National Parks area. This book, more so than any other that I have read on the Sierra, provides insights into the people, the origin of geographic names and the forces and interests that drove the people into the high Sierra region. A fascinating look at the barometric and surveying tools that were lugged to the top of the highest peaks is given and a historical account of the ever increasing accuracy of the maps and just how close the original estimates were. True to his profession, Moore then goes into an in-depth discussion of the current understanding of the geologic history of the region. This discussion will be a great interest to those with a casual to serious interest in geology and will provide a greater awareness for your next trip into the area. It held me, a retired geologist, captive and will remain on my shelf as one of my most treasured references.

I have been to Vegas numerous times and had a friend going for the first time in 20 years. Purchased the book for her and gave it to her prior to her trip. She LOVED it and I found it quite accurate from my experiences there. It's a great book for someone new to Vegas and it's very user friendly.

This book was very informative. It changed my mind about some restaurants that I wanted to go to and helped me plan my trip without a travel agent.

Dummies books in general are nicely laid out, with easy to read text, informative highlights, and simple symbols to keep you in check. That all being said, this just isn't my favorite travel book about Vegas. The Dummies style works great for figuring out how your software works, but it doesn't seem to key in properly to what Las Vegas is all about.

I think the main issue here is that the Dummies book tries to cover a number of different topics in a very shallow manner. Let's start at the beginning. It dedicates the first two chapters on how to get to Vegas. It lists things like "surf the web" to find cheap airline rates. I really didn't need a book to tell me that. It tells you to bring a cell phone. Really, if I get a book on Vegas, I want to know what to do and see in Vegas, and where to stay. The rest of this intro stuff is just fluff.

OK, so we get to the actual "arrival" part of the book. Once again you have a ton of fluff about "look on the web to find hotel prices" and "avoiding hidden costs". They could almost have a cookie cutter travel book at this point, with no actual content about the city you are visiting. When we finally get to the actual hotel descriptions, there is a brief paragraph (or maybe 2) on each one. I would really have liked some sort of easy to use table listing them all and their features, rather than having to scan the paragraphs hoping they mentioned the items I was interested in.

The restaurant area is the same way, a paragraph on each, no real organization to help you out on making your choices. But don't blink - quickly you are into "gambling tips and tricks". Really, if I wanted to learn how to gamble, there are ample books on the topic. I need to know the details in Vegas to choose where to stay and eat, and I still really haven't gotten enough of that information.

You get some information on shows and nightclubs, but then you get lists of top 10 things that aren't in Vegas any more. This might be historically informative, and I might not have minded its inclusion if otherwise the book was chock-full of specific, useful information. But given how much of the rest of the book was already generic, it sort of rubbed that in my face. So now I know even more about things that aren't around any more :)

I do love Dummies books. I own many of them and think they're great. For some reason, the Vegas Dummies book is the worst book in my Vegas collection. I guess it just goes to show that no one system can fit every need.

The price of this book is very reasonable considering all of the information one can learn about Las Vegas. However, I felt as though it could have included more information such as a list of houses of worship and public transportation for those who don't feel comfortable driving around in strange cities. It really is a book for those who plan on renting a car and seeing the city by car. Nonetheless, I think everyone who plans to visit Las Vegas should read this book as it is well-written and the layout is great. It's a fun book to read and it's well worth the price. If I ever get out to Las Vegas, I will absolutely take this book with me as it has a lot of information about hotels and restaurants. It's definitely not stuffy or boring. Even young people would find it easy reading compared to some of the more lengthy, wordy travel guides.

This is the second for Dummies book on travel I have purchased. I did not find it as helpful as the first book (on Hawaii), but it has some great basic information to start your research on if this is your first time to Las Vegas. The rest of my research was on the internet- mostly looking at pictures to get a feel of what I would like to see in person. You can narrow down quite a bit of your searching by reading this easy to read first half of this book, which is devoted to accomodations and attractions. It quickly gives you a summary of all you need to know.

The book was particurlarly helpful in summarizing what all the casinos on the strip offer to do besides gamble- shows, museums, etc. and there are a lot to sort through, and several are free! My family accused me of being to Las Vegas before because I had such a clear idea of where to go and what to see attraction-wise in what seems a chaotic city of entertainment, something this book is invaluable for.

Also helpful were tips on which casinos were connected to what if you want to beat the heat or not walk as far. This book needs to get updated though in that respect. The other half of the book gives tips and instructions on gambling for those going to do less looking and more gambling.

It's a nice big book with plenty of contrasting photos of various locales in Las Vegas.

Each photo, old and new, comes with a brief description and/or historical fact of the structure or location. The info is informative and interesting.

While I enjoyed the photos that were presented, the format makes it too "black and white". So basically you get the very beginning photo and then the most current photo(usually in the 21st century).

Would've been nice if they could've included some transition photos, as a lot of casinos went thru various changes throughout the years.

Overall though, I enjoyed the book as it managed to evoke my deep memories of Sin City.

I purchased the book for my son-in-law who enjoyed it VERY MUCH. Great Book.
Shirley Nordby

this is a nice book with very beautiful photos ,a must for people who like
to learn about other cities evolution.

I was finally able to visit Las Vegas last year and bought several Vegas books as souvenirs. Unfortunately, most of the books only provided information on present-day Las Vegas. Also wanted were pictures of the Las Vegas I had seen on TV as a kid. After all, that is what gave it its magic & attraction to me.

This book provides that. Pictures of the old & new are featured on opposite pages for easy comparison. The pictures are large, sharp, & clear, & are of excellent quality to this layman's eye. They are also accompanied by short paragraphs of essential facts such as build dates & owners, along with information peculiar to the specific buildings.

I highly recommend this book to the nostalgist.

I drove through Las Vegas in 1975 and was so unimpressed I didn't even stop and get out of the car. I wanted to see if this book had any photos from that era and was pleased to find out my memory wasn't faulty. I was also there in the mid '60s and the late '90s and the book didn't let me down on those memories, either.

A really fascinating little book, with a very rare quality... it's really the first time this story has been told. Other Vegas books are good, some are great, but most in one way or another repeat the stories we've read before (another exception: Fly on the Wall by Dick Odessky).

This is a sketchy at best account of a powerful man during his time. The book is short and did not give me enough details to his insight on Vegas except that he was a gambloholic. It left me wanting to know more about this man and his rise to power. Honestly I enjoyed more his accounts as the publisher of the Hollywood Reporter and the power he had there than his accounts of trying to build the Flamingo. I thought the book would give more insight on early Vegas but to me gave more to early Hollywood.

Whatta story! If Mr. Wilkerson only had control of his addiction there is no telling what he could have accomplished. This is a talented man who had half the world by the tail, but couldn't get that 2nd half. He was able to accomplish a lot and was the creator of modern casinos in Las Vegas. This is a short story, but filled with interesting information. Highly recommended.

One man's chronic gambling habit became the foundation for modern Las Vegas: The Man Who Invented Las Vegas documents his rags-to-riches story and his impact on building the casinos and hotels of Las Vegas. Black and white photos pepper an examination of publisher Wilkerson's life and investments in the Las Vegas image in a fascinating blend of local history and biography.

This is a top notch read. It is hard to find books of this caliber about the mob. The research is scholarly but still accessible. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the birth of Las Vegas and the gritty details of Hollywood history in general.

It reminded me a little of Shane, the story of a killer trying to leave behind his past. The reasons for his being hunted after so many years were never made clear. The main character's abilities were highly exagerated - a 50 year old man spends days on strenuous hike, than runs 40 miles (!) in 6 hours and has enough left to take on all the bad guys single handed.

I fully support and subscribe to the views eloquently expressed by John Haynes in the first review in this section. However, there are a couple aspects of this terrific novel I'd like to emphasize. One of which is the extraordinarily achieved prose with which the book is chiseled. Clearly we are dealing here with a craftsman in possesion of considerable powers -- the complex, and William Gasper is one complex character, is rendered with heartstopping clarity and compression, and structurally this book, constructed as efficiently as the rifle Gasper carries, is a dream. For those out there still interested in quality bookmaking, it is worth signalling that The Man Who Walked to the Moon is also, in addition to being a fine and rare work of art, a handsome object. In conclusion, I disagree with the reader who said Mr. McCord's book is devoid of W.F.'s eternal verities -- it seems to me almost entirely built of them.

Varied incarnations of "moon":celestial body; Lady Moon Goddess of uncertain reaility; the moon of the mind, a point of fascination. A fictional mountain called Moon, the old ziggurat, the high place where gods are worshipped--marriage bed to man and goddess. Contact point of human and divine. A man who takes in little more than tea as food, who sees with his dreaming eye, and dreams? hallucinates? lives? in some cthonic level a moment whence he lies with the Celtic White Goddess, Cerridwen. So, a philosophical novel. A spacey treatise, a little trip into onology. Especially if voice is pitch perfect. The images clean and self-contained. Not one false move or moment of waste. But also a novel of an assassin train by our own military and whose resume might include a former President, a warm afternoon in Dallas; a man who has seen blurred the lines between good and evil and who now finds himself stalked across high country wilderness outside of Stearns, Nevada. So, maybe a thriller, a completly different novel than the first--one lean and nasty, the deep look inot our own hearts. .. Actually, compact both novels into one hundred and twenty-three moody, powerful pages and you would have Howard McCord's fine first novella, The Man Who Walked to The Moon. The protagonist, one William Gasper, is an assassin who has known several wars and a number of continents. His questions, whether spoken or not, are the most basic of all: who and what are we in this life. His answers are the stark and stripped true places of the world. And the autonomy, the perfection, of a gun. Gasper tells us the Cerridwen is real, part of the ninety-nine per cent of the universe which lies beyond human understanding, that he is not "delusional" nor "given to quaint expression." And that she has saved him, this goddess, in Korea . He feels that it is now one of her Palug Cats stalking him across a ridgetop of the Moon> Does it matter whether in the most literal of senses this ! is true? Not to me. The importance of this book is the quite wonderful way it forms, sentence, by sentence, the shape of its philosophical core. And the way it pulls the reader, by way of a fine narrative, into the very same core. It is both story and idea. This is a novel Camus might have written if he'd lived. Thankfully, McCord is alive and well and writing. Read what he has to say.

Written by a Korean War veteran, marathon runner, and university teacher of 43 years' experience, The Man Who Walked to the Moon is the story of an ex-Marine sniper turned professional lone wolf. Set amid the mountains of Nevada, including one particularly imposing peak dubbed "The Moon", it follows the protagonist's tale of a life without illusions yet brought to the brink of a mystic spirituality, and denounces the decadence of civilization and over- reliance upon luxuries. Mystery, threat, and military reminiscence combine in this transcendental work of austere literature.

While agreeing in the main with the previous reviewer, I have struggled with his/her last statement: of which of William Faulkner's eternal verities is this book 'built' (and why, for that matter, was Faulkner brought into it in the first place?)? After considering it for some time, it occurred to me that perhaps it was 'truth' that was being to referred to, truth in the sense of applied and deeply committed attention, of profound and unflinching gaze, of burning away and boiling down. The book, and my god we need more like it, is a kind of breviary of tough questions, questions asked and answered. Mr. Faulkner and his commendable ideas on the way it must be done aside, I highly, highly recommend it.

Most political autobiographies seem to be written by the same professional writers--they all sound the same. Not so with this book. It is clear from the start that Senator Laxalt really wrote every page. First, he is willing to admit the mistakes he made over his life--truly rare for an American politician. Second, the writing style is informal and enthusiastic. You know what he likes and thinks. Senator Laxalt had an interesting life. Although one may have doubts in the beginning about how interesting political life in Nevada is, many fascinating stories come from the book--the Senator's complicated relationship with Howard Hughes, how he treated alleged Mafia figures, how he stopped the war between the State's leaders and the FBI, and, of course, his long friendship with Ronald Reagan, who served as the governor California at the same time as Laxalt served as governor of Nevada. For a man from a small State, Laxalt was in the middle of many interesting situations. My only complaint is that he left lots of stories out of the book. At nearly 400 pages, I am sure he felt that he needed to stop, but I would have been interested in learning more about his years in Washington as the best friend of the President. The book is very readable, and it ended all too soon. Hopefully the Senator will write a second book.

Most political autobiographies seem to be written by the same professional writers--they all sound the same. Not so with this book. It is clear from the start that Senator Laxalt really wrote every page. First, he is willing to admit the mistakes he made over his life--truly rare for an American politician. Second, the writing style is informal enthusiastic. You know what he likes and thinks. Senator Laxalt had an interesting life. Although one may have doubts in the beginning about how interesting political life in Nevada is, many fascinating stories come from the book--the Senator's complicated relationship with Howard Hughes, how he treated alleged Mafia figures, how he stopped the war between the State's leaders and the FBI, and, of course, his long friendship with Ronald Reagan, who served as the governor of California at the same time as Laxalt served as governor of Nevada. For a man from a small State, Laxalt was in the middle of many interesting situations. My only complaint is that he left lots of stories out of the book. At nearly 400 pages, I am sure he felt that he needed to stop, but I would have been interested in learning more about his years in Washington as the best friend of the President. The book is very readable, and it ended all too soon. Hopefully the Senator will write a second book.

Most political autobiographies seem to be written by the same professional writers--they all sound the same. Not so with this book. It is clear from the start that Senator Laxalt really wrote every page. First, he is willing to admit the mistakes he made over his life--truly rare for an American politician. Second, the writing style is informal and enthusiastic. You know what he likes and thinks. Senator Laxalt had an interesting life. Although one may have doubts in the beginning about how interesting political life in Nevada is, many fascinating stories come from the book--the Senator's complicated relationship with Howard Hughes, how he treated alleged Mafia figures, how he stopped the war between the State's leaders and the FBI, and, of course, his long friendship with Ronald Reagan, who served as the governor California at the same time as Laxalt served as governor of Nevada. For a man from a small State, Laxalt was in the middle of many interesting situations. My only complaint is that he left lots of stories out of the book. At nearly 400 pages, I am sure he felt that he needed to stop, but I would have been interested in learning more about his years in Washington as the best friend of the President. The book is very readable, and it ended all too soon. Hopefully the Senator will write a second book.

This memoir by Paul Laxalt is well-worth reading by those who value a book that is not only well-written, but also substantive. Written in a conversationalistic style, it reads like a good story. It is the story of the evolution of a fascinating life by Laxalt, including his early years growing up in Nevada, his military experiences at the end of World War II, his family (which is rich in Basque character), and the development of the career that Laxalt is most known for, which is politics. Laxalt - in the tradition of his Basque heritage, was a reluctant entrant and a reluctant political figure through much of his career. Prefering the value of a hand-shake and veracity, the behavior & semantics inherent to politics was something that he viewed with skepticsim, yet understood the importance of public service and of the need for change in the political arena. His career spanned a broad spectrum, from D.A. to Lt. Governor to Governor to the U.S. Senate. Setbacks occurred & lessons were learned, which made Laxalt a "seasoned" person in not only Nevada politics, but national politics as well. His governorship of Nevada coincided for 4 years with the neighboring Governor of California - Ronald Reagan. This political relationship turned into a valued personal friendship, resulting in Laxalt often being referred to as the "best friend" of Reagan during his Presidency, and one who Reagan could rely on for honest advice. As opposed to many others who worked close with Reagan, Laxalt remains true to his strong sense of Basque loyalty & writes about Reagan in an insightful manner, while respecting the privacy of a "true friend." This book is valued reading for people interested in varying subjects, including the history of Nevada and the West, contemmporary political history in Nevada and the West, and the rise of Ronald Reagan to the Presidency & his performance in office. As a final note, because of its adroit writing style done in a conversational and story-telling manner makes it a valued read to not only an audience interested in the aforementioned subjects, but also a good book for potential use in college political science classes. It is highly-recommended.

I have admired Paul Laxalt from afar for many years -- now I know why. His engaging and easily read memoirs will be good going for anyone interested in Nevada, or the Reagan years, or recent American political life.

Following Laxalt from his political roots in Carson City to his role at the pinnacle of American power is fascinating. To me, the author's straightforward humility explains his success and stands in contrast to most of our present leaders. Maybe poise, common sense and a limited self-interest are the ingredients that matter most in our politicians.

This book bills itself as a history of law enforcement in Southern Nevada and is very comprehensive, but ultimately feels more like a collection of anecdotes, facts, and personalities than a cohesive narrative. Griffin is also a mystery writer, and his forte is serving his readers a nice, meaty story. That's where Policing Las Vegas is the strongest--particularly in the chapters on the Mob and the 1992 race riots, where Griffin reads almost like an eyewitness account.

The early material, however, is paper-thin. While Griffin has my sympathies--there's probably a lack of documentary evidence of the region's police departments' early years--there's not much excuse for the scatter-shot presentation of the first six decades of this history. Chiefs are raised to honor and toppled from grace (usually with no explanation of why), Las Vegas sees milestones like its first patrol car and first female officer, and statistics about the city's growth occasionally march in, but with little sense of flow or progress. And there's certainly nothing to put what we're reading into context: as Western towns go, was Las Vegas progressive or slow-to-change in its policing? It has the feel of an author with limited sources writing a chronology rather than a true history.

In its later years, as newspaper accounts grow less telegraphic and living interviewees emerge, though, the book is quite good. As it happens, this uptick in quality coincides with the establishment of the unified Las Vegas/Clark County Metro Police Department in 1973. From here on in, Policing Las Vegas is rock-solid and far more readable. The reader almost forgets that the first 68 years of Las Vegas policing were covered in a perfunctory 42 pages. You don't get the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but you do learn the basic history of Metro.

And what a history it is. Political squabbles over consolidation give way to a struggle with various organized crime figures. There's some solid police work discussed here. And the long chapter on the 1992 riots reads almost like a primary source document. There are also stirring testimonials to Metro officers who have fallen in the line of duty and helpful appendices with various landmark dates and Metro initiatives.

The richness of the the material from 1973 onwards, though, only makes the books initial skeletal treatment stand out more starkly.

If you consider this a history of Metro with a longish preface about the pre-Metro years, you won't be disappointed.

Synopsis
After being established as a railroad town, most of Las Vegas' population was made up of tough railroaders, and miners who worked, drank and fought hard. Sam Gay, the first police chief, as well as the first elected county sheriff, broke up the numerous scuffles by grabbing the combatants by the scruff of the neck and banging their heads together-- it was the beginning of a long legacy of law and order in America's most explosive boomtown.
Over the years Las Vegas left behind its rough and tumble beginnings to become the gambling and entertainment capital of the world. Naturally, the influx of residents and visitors-- and their money--brought crime. From Prostitutes to street gangs, mobsters to drug dealers, robbers to cheats, Sin City has seen it all. And law enforcement efforts have had to adapt accordingly.
ISBN:0-929712-23-4

Category: Non-Fiction, History - Law Enforcement

Our New Book Review
Huntington Press
A well written history is among my favorite books, Policing Las Vegas by Dennis N Griffin certainly exceeds my standards for this category. Well researched and presented, the City of Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County Nevada's history of law enforcement is filled with colorful crooks and cops. From "Mob Enforcers" to gangbangers, and the men and women that worked to bring them to justice, this work is filled with the reasons why Metro Las Vegas Police Department is one of the leading Police Departments in existence.
Mr. Griffin has avoided the sometimes dry facts and figures rote, by using the "real" colorful characters that brought about the changes and growth to LVMVPD and the reasons why they did so. His use of recent interviews of people that were there, in person, shows the many faces of law enforcement and the determination most had to do the job well. He shows events and people, both good and bad, as they were recorded.
My highest recommendation is given to anyone that enjoys history or law enforcement subjects.
Ray Ward (...)

There's a great book that just hit the market - Policing Las Vegas, by Dennis Griffin. As Las Vegas, NV reaches its Centennial in May 2005, the book, that is a complete and unvarnished history of law enforcement in this wild and unique city, is there to introduce the reader to the crime fighters that made Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department what it is today.

Take the time to visit with Hiram Powell, the rough and tough street cop, who tangled in the 1940s with Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel on numerous occasions. Hi always came out the winner, even with Bugsy having friends in the business, if you know what I mean. If you think Hi's story in the book is fascinating, you should take the time to meet him in person. Yes, he still lives here in town.

Meet Herman Moody, one of the first African-American police officers in the city of Las Vegas. Find out what it was like to work the rough west side of the small but growing city. Herman gave the city of Las Vegas more than thirty years of service. He too is still in town and shares his experiences with his friends.

Visit the modern age of law enforcement as a very busy department serves the ever-expanding community of Las Vegas and Clark County. Come and meet today's heroes of the department like Enrique Hernandez, who after an anything but routine traffic stop, was shot numerous times by the criminal her pursued. Although severely wounded, Enrique has fought hard to recover and has returned to limited duty. Also meet Dennis Devitte, who while off duty was confronted by armed robbers, and even though he faced superior firepower, took the robbers on, was shot eight times, but was still able to return fire and kill one of the robbers.

Mr. Griffin was able to write Policing Las Vegas with the cooperation of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. This fantastic book was three years in the making. When the project was undertaken, Mr. Griffin told the department he would cover the history of the department, not just the good stories, but all the stories. He has covered both the good and the bad, and how it has affected this well respected police department. In fact, at a recent book signing and reception, Sheriff Bill Young, honored Mr. Griffin by attending the event and praised Mr. Griffin for his outstanding book, Policing Las Vegas.

I must be totally frank. I have been a fan of Dennis N Griffin's writing since his first book,THE MORGUE. Even though THE MORGUE was Dennis' first attempt at writing, the technical material was presented in a clear, easy to read and easy to understand, style. The following books: RED GOLD, BLOOD MONEY, ONE-ARMED BANDIT, PAIR-A-DICE and PENSION came in quick succession.

POLICING LAS VEGAS is an historical account of the beginning of law enforcement in Las Vegas to the present day. There are many wonderful stories of the dedicated, competent men and women,some of whom, have given their lives to make this a safe town for us and our many visitors. Great selection of pictures, one-of-a-kind.

I have read several accounts of Las Vegas relating to its history and characters from The Green Felt Jungle and the Players, to Of Rats and Men. But until Policing Las Vegas by Dennis Griffin I never found much in the way of how Las Vegas law enforcment evolved over the years. I always thought it was a story worth telling.

I resided in Las Vegas from 1956 thru 1988 and was personally acquainted with a large number of local characters both in and out of law enforcement. I was very impressed with Policing Las Vegas as I discovered several things that I had long forgotten or never knew. I applaud author Dennis Griffin for his thoroughness and meticulous research. The description of the "Rodney King" riots were especially riviting. I would strongly recommend this work for anyone interested in law enforcement or Las Vegas in general.

Oh! Did I mention that I am a former Clark County (Las Vegas) sheriff?

This book is a collection of short stories that take place in Nevada's wild country. Although the landscapes are vividly portrayed, the stories focus more on the relationships of the characters, many of which are father-son relations. The stories are filled with metaphors and phrases pertaining to the state's hard country, livestock, and wildlife. Gibney does a good job showing the love many Nevadans have for their state and its outdoor lifestyle, a love that is greatly misunderstood by outsiders who view Nevada as a gambling haven littered with prostitution. I enjoyed the book, and find it gives insight into a part of Nevada that is widely unknown...the toughness the land hands its inhabitants along with a deep sage-gray character that is woven throughout the state.

This little book is full of gritty and real characters sustemic to my ideal of desert southwest characters. Good stories, great descriptors of terrain and desert environs and overall a very good read. I would love to see another short storu collection.

Art Gibney's first book is compilation of some of his short stories. Many of his stories have appeared in such publications as South Dakota Review, Tennessee Quarterly, The Bear Essential Magazine. His masterfully told tales illustrate what the contemporary rural Nevada could have been like. As the pages turn, let Gibney's imagination take you back to a time of a more simple but wilder (as he calls) Adaven a.k.a. Nevada. This book is delightful easy read that is a must for all us with the frontiersmen or women hidden away inside, or those who ponder what Nevada may have been like in earlier times.

Who would have thought that a city-dweller such as myself would enjoy reading a book that boasted such chapter titles as "Wild Cow" and "The Manure Spreader?" I certainly didn't expect to. Tales of rural life have never much appealed to me. I have lived in Nevada, the state that Gibney writes about, for 22 years now, and I suppose I try to reject the rural stereotypes that haunt Nevadans. Well, Gibney managed to enthrall me. His language is beautiful, and you will soon forget that you are reading about a man on a tractor - you are soon reading about yourself. Gibney has a way of putting you directly in his story. I know nothing of manure spreading, thus I assumed that I would reject the aforementioned chapter. But the stories are not about Nevada and living in a rural area, the stories are about the people. Gibney's ability to capture people, and transport you, the reader, into their psyche, is what makes his writing so attractive. You will see things in your mind's eye that you will see for the first time. You will experience feelings and life through his characters that you may not have ever had the luxury to feel. I would certainly recommend Skin of the Earth to those who like to become involved in their reading, and create a realationship with the characters. Good read.

Art Gibney's Skin of the Earth is a collection of fictional stories about life in the deep back country areas of Nevada. These stories describe the lives of those who are caught within the problems of urban or rural living and the resulting collision of the two. The characters are fully developed within a corner of their existence, opening the reader's eyes to a struggle that takes place when the earth meets the world. Each character is seeking something that might be almost impossible, yet so seemingly within reach. This book finds its strength in the powerful storytelling, and the reader finds himself suddenly immersed in a situation that he might never have come across or been interested in. The descriptions of the land, the life, the troubles of solitude and companionship both are vivid and memorable. The characters in these stories are people you might never get to know, never speak with, never give a second thought to. The narration seems to touch the reader into the life of a real person, just at the most important moment of truth, then whisk the reader away. Instead of a mindless, rambling tale, these stories require some reader participation, demanding that the reader interact with the ideas, leaving gaps for the reader to inquire about and piece together his own meaning. There is nothing that is directly spelled out, but rather a snapshot of a life that encourages the reader to consider what he has just witnessed. I generally enjoyed this book, although some stories stand out to me more than others. The description itself is beautiful, and I found myself reading through this book at a speedy pace, interested to read what was next.