Nevada Books

I'm a woman and I was curious about the mind set of men who pay for sex, and curious too about the women who sell it. This book isn't an in depth examination of the psyches of either one of these groups. Nevertheless, it was informative in its own way. It tells you where to go in Mexico to buy sex, how to get there, what to look out for so you don't get cheated, how to bargain, how to get the kind of sex you want and some peripheral information that some men might be interested in. I guess the book was a pretty good insight into the thinking processes of the buying male, after all. The book certainly does what it says it will do. Anyone would know how to dicker in a Mexican brothel/bar after reading this book. [...]

I read this book not because I was interested in pursuing sexual encounters with prostitutes but mostly out of curiousity. I figured it would be quite an interesting read. It was in some ways, but it also was very sleazy and made me feel somewhat down to know that people engage such exploitive practices. Nevertheless, being exposed to this sickening side of humanity did prove to be interesting. This author actually lists places where people can go to pay for sexual encounters in Mexican border cities and how to bargain. What he does not mention is that these girls are victims who have generally been forced to do this kind of work due to alcoholism and drug addiction. The author also states how the prostitutes submit to regular health screenings, but did anyone ever stop to consider that Mexican government is extremely corrupt and bribes can get anyone "legal documentation?" Do you really trust the Mexican government to ensure your health safety by monitoring prostitutes? The author also irresponsibly tells how simple it is to get a hold of Viagra in Mexico without giving adequate warning of its dangers.

This book is great for entertainment purposes- I recommend it for that. But, do not risk your life and follow its advice. The result of such action can destroy your life on many different levels.

As a businessman from Atlanta, I was surprised to learn that prostitution was actually legal somewhere, so I felt compelled to order The $51 Fantasy. Since I am 40-ish and don't get often get opportunities to meet sexy women, I felt this book could add some spice to my frequent business trips to Houston and Los Angeles.

Wow - what an eye-opener! Eric Moore explains all of the gory details about legal prostitution in northern Mexico such as where the sexiest girls work, how much they charge and what services they offer. He provides complete descriptions and locations of these nightclubs and explains every possible mode of transportation necessary to get there. He even explains how to get Viagra in Mexico without a prescription! Not bad. (Of course, I have no need for Viagra. Hee Hee.)

OK, so this book will not go get a Pulitzer. But for what it attempts to do, it is perfect, and this is why I give it "5 Stars." It is graphic, titillating and informative. It will not serve to forward the rights of women around the world, and most people may find this whole concept troubling and revolting. But as far as I am concerned, I can only hope that I will soon get the opportunity to "make a run for the border" for my own $51 Fantasy.

This book was invaluable during a recent week-long vacation in the Mammoth Lakes area of the Sierras. The trail descriptions are clear and to the point. Each of the 64 hikes is described in 2-4 pages, with a quick summary of the statistics (distance, vertical), a clear map (showing trailhead, trail, and nearby natural features), and a nicely-written description of the trail and why you would (or would not) want to spend a day on it. If you're going to the area and want advice on where to hike, this book is the next best thing to a personal guide.

I like the book quite a bit. It is very specific on directions and descriptions. Having been in some of these locations before I can tell you it brought back memories. The only flaw I found in the book is that it said little or nothing about the fishing that would be found in the lakes that the hikes would take you to or near. Many hikers choose their destinations based at least partially around what kind of fishing they will find along the way. It would have been much better had the pictures been in color, also.

We have read many books aobut hiking in the Sierras. this and the companion Northern Sierra book are by far the best. Each book covers over 60 hikes and all are magnificent one day trips. Descriptions of scenery and trails are super perfect. Best book by far on Sierra hikes

An entertaining book, fairly well written, no hypo-technical jargon for which archaeologists are well known...and for that I am thankful. Very adequate photographs of the artifacts, good descriptions. Includes short fictional accounts of what may have transpired in each saloon, based on the artifacts found. My only critical points on this book are these: one i would expect a hardbound books of some size, for the price of over 21 bucks and this is a softbound, very small and short book of 166 pages not counting the exhaustive notes, so there is not much bang for the buck. Secondly, the mishmash of the various saloons and excavations is confusing in the book, the author switches from one saloon excavation to another time after time, so that you are never sure exactly where you are. Not exactly the flowing words of Ivor Noel Hume, but still a nice book, thus my four star rating.

Boomtown Saloons puts a humane and inclusive face on Old West culture. It was refreshing to see that there was more to life in Virginia City than Hollywood's interpretations.

This well written, informative, and entertaining book which should be a must read for anyone interested in the Old West.

Written by anthropology professor and American West historical archaeology specialist Kelly J. Dixon, Boomtown Saloons is an exciting account of the excavation and analysis of four nineteenth-century Virginia City, Nevada saloon sites. Dixon personally participated the excavation projects, and offers a firsthand view of the evidence, and what its analysis tells us about the people and society of Virginia City well over a century ago. From the style of saloon architecture to reconstructed menu items, saloon serving ware, vices and amusements that saloons offered, and much more, Boomtown Saloons is a cutting-edge delve into the fine nuances of what archaeology can tell us about America's past.

Unfortunatley a lot of the reviews here are actually for different volumes of IDW's CSI comics. This is a review specifically of CSI: Secret Identity written by Steven Grant and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez and Steven Perkins.

This is volume 5 of the CSI line, each graphic novel collecting a mini-series put out by IDW. The first three miniseries were written by Max Allen Collins (Ms. Tree, Road to Perdition) and were, quite frankly, boring. The fourth volume written by Kris Oprisko wasn't bad, but it had to do with the Las Vegas mob scene, and so felt a bit cliche.

However this volume, written by Steven Grant is complex and dynamic. He has a great sense of pacing, knows how to weave a complex story that's still possible to follow, and has great cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter.

The story is complex. The fictional Safari Hotel is being demolished. The implosion is made into a big public event. A tourist filming the implosion thinks he sees a body in the debris. He goes to the police but the video image is difficult to make out because of the dust and dirt kicked up by the implosion. But when the tourist is later found dead, his video camera and copies of the tape stolen, the police start looking deeper into the case. They find a body that had been buried in one of the cement pillars during the hotel's construction. The problem being that the corpse is a dead wringer for Vince Lansing, the owner of the hotel who died only a month ago.

The case takes a lot of twists. All of Lansing's family members and former business partners seem to have something to hide. As more evidence, not to mention bodies, are uncovered, the case is definately leading somewhere but the dots don't quite connect. And when they really start getting close a CSI member gets physically assaulted on the front steps of the police station.

Gebriel Rodriguez, who has been the artist on all of IDW's CSI books so far, has really developed as an artist. His characters, not only the CSI characters we already know but also the new characters introduced in this volume, are visually distinct and easily identifiable. His compositions and story-telling in this volume are a lot more dynamic than in previous volumes. Some of the credit for that should go to the writer for giving us great scenes like the old man trying to get away from the police in a golf cart who drives himself right into a sand trap.

The painted art (which is used in the flashback and theoretical sequences which are usually shown in a different color or with CGI on the TV show) is by Steven Perkins. It's intentionally rough, imitating the work of Ashley Wood who illustrated the same types of seqences in the first three volumes. Personally I don't think using a rough painting to imitate a detailed CGI moment was the way to go, but it all boils down to personal taste.

The weakest point is that there's no uniqueness to the characters, though, to be fair, this can be a weak point in some episodes of the show as well. The characters don't show enough individual personality, and could easily be swapped with any other character in almost every scene.

Also, the binding on my copy came apart. This is easily fixable, but it's a disappointing trend in comics in recent years.

All in all, I think this is a good book, much more solid and entertaining than the previous volumes of CSI.

Great Read, if you are a fan of CSI, you will love this book

I enjoyed this book alot. I really like how Linda Chaikin sets up her story in the historical setting of the silver boom in Virginia City. She really did her research on this time period. The characters Rick Delance and Callie Halliday were engaging and lively characters. I admit that I fell in love with the cocky handsome gunfighter because even though Rick was set on avenging his family's deaths, his faith in the Lord was just below the surface.Will he be able to set aside his desire for revenge? He was an awesome example of a manly hero. Callie Halliday is the beautiful actress who is determined to make it in the theater world of Broadway with the handsome Ashe Perry. After a year of performances in San Francisco, she returns to Virginia City, Nevada to perform in the new theater and to get engaged to her leading man. What she didn't count on were bizarre incidents in which in one she narrowly escapes death...and her renewed attraction to Rick Delance, who was clearly, she thought, was out of her bounds. Her uncle is also insisting that the man she is thinking of marrying was not a Christian. Yet in spite of everything, Callie is determined to make her dreams come true. What will it take for her to realize God's plan for her? Will love shine in the darkness?

As always, any book by Linda Chaikin is worth reading at least twice. I liked this book, but I only gave it 4 stars b/c at the end the love connection happens a little to quickly for my taste. You wait the whole book for the 2 main characters to get together and then they are like...Oh I love you & I love you all of the sudden. It just happened funny. But, it was a great book and I love reading anything that Linda Chaikin writes.

Okay, so I liked Desert Rose a little bit better than Desert Star, just because it was a little more romantic, but Desert Star is so great. I'll read anything by Linda Chaikin, because her heroes are so strong and manly and romantic. Desert Star is a little different from most of her books, in that the main characters aren't both strong Christians, but rather are lapsed in their faith and struggling against that. I liked it, though, because I could relate a little bit more to Callie than to a lot of her heroines who are really strong Christians and have it all figured out already. Anyway, I really love this book, and would recommend it, and Desert Rose, the first in this series, very highly.

Zdon does a great job of listing hikes in the southern Nevada and California desert. The descriptions and directions he gives are highly accurate. I've done a few dozen of the hikes listed in the book (some before and some since seeing the book) and can attest that the book is highly reliable. One feature that Zdon works into his hike descriptions which I like a lot is a description of the plants in the area. For instance, in describing the Kingston Range (an area I have not yet got to explore) he tells of a yucca-like plant called the nolina and of a "relict stand of white firs" on this desert peak. Details like this make me want to get out and explore that area! (He also mentions that the hiker should keep a watch out for ticks while climbing Kingston Peak, but that's important advice too!) Another interesting area Zdon covers is the Sheep Mountains which are northeast of Las Vegas. Zdon goes beyond the typical Joshua Tree and Death Valley hikes that are covered in dozens of books and includes the lesser hiked areas in the deserts of southern Nevada and California.

Although I'm waiting try the new hikes detailed in this book (I'll wait till summer passes, thanks), I have found it to be a great read on its own merits. The physical descriptions of the areas covered are detailed and evocative without being flowery; the driving and trail directions are as exact as they can be given the remoteness of some of these areas. Mr. Zdon knows these places inside and out, and he goes well beyond the obvious choices into some wild and relatively unexplored terrain. This book introduced me to some new places I want to experience, and made me realize I don't know my "familiar" spots as well as I thought. The volume is also very handsomely illustrated and produced.

Andy Zdon has done a very thorough job researching the approaches and hiking/climbing routes in this guide book. I especially liked the fact that he warns the reader against taking passenger cars up roads which he feels require 4WD capability. The inclusion of general area maps and actual photographs make the book even more useful. Descriptions are great but someone said "a picture is worth a thousand words". Included in the descriptions are such useful topics as the anticipated round trip elevation gain and hiking distance. In some instances Andy has added his personal comments regarding safety issue or things like "don't underestimate the difficulty of this hike". The personal touch gives the guide book user more of a "hands on" feel to the overall hike. I recommend Desert Summits to all of those folks who are planning to get out and hike/climb the areas described in the book. Hey, here's another "list" to get you out of the house this winter.

Helpful guide to Las Vegas. I used while I was there several weeks ago. I especially like the way the chapters are designed: The Best of the Strip, The Rest of the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas. I used it to choose what sights we wanted to see. I also liked the chapter on Eating your way across Las Vegas. It gives an honest and thorough critique!

THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT TRAVEL COMPANION. WE USED THE MAPS INSIDE FOR DRIVING DIRECTIONS. THEY ARE ALL VERY EASY TO READ AND FOLLOW. IT ALSO HAS A GOOD LISTING OF SIGHTS TO SEE AND THINGS TO DO. I REALLY LIKE IT BECAUSE IT IS NOT BORING TO JUST SIT AND READ. IT GIVES YOU BRIEF HISTORY ON AREAS AND UPDATES ANY CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURED IN THE LAST YEAR. I LOOK FORWARD TO MY NEXT VACATION AND JUST HOPE THAT WHEREVER I PLAN TO GO THERE IS AND ECONOGUIDE FOR IT.

The descriptions of various Vegas locations in this book are detailed and accurate, and easy to read. The book includes tips on getting the best airfare, hotel, and ticket rates, as well as attention-grabbing descriptions of what you can find and where. Ratings from one to six stars are included for every hotel, casino, and restaurant, as well as periodic "blurb boxes" of worthy and humorous side notes about Las Vegas. This book makes an excellent start for the first time Sin City visitor, or for those who have been before but might have missed something and want to know where to find it. The maps are also easy to follow and quite helpful.

So why do I give this book only 4 out of 5 stars? Because there are pieces of it that mislead the buyer. The book is NOT "filled with hundreds of dollars of money-saving coupons" as the photo says. There are a FEW coupons in the back of the book, but they make absolutely no sense for this guide. For instance, there are coupons for Universal Studios and for Knotts Berry Farm, both of which are located in Los Angeles. Now why the heck anyone would put L.A. coupons in a Las Vegas/Reno/Tahoe guide, I have yet to figure out. The single ACTUAL Las Vegas coupon in this book is for a Mini Grand Prix fun center that is located nowhere near either the Strip or the Downtown area...most visitors will not even see the place, and I've not seen this Grand Prix advertised anywhere else but this book. And there are NO Reno, Laughlin, or Tahoe coupons in the book.

And even if you DID manage to use the all of six or seven coupons included in the book, you wouldn't even save $200.

What else misleads the reader? Well, be careful...there is a great (and perhaps valid) point the author makes about always asking hotels for their BEST rate. He then tells how he called a hotel and got a quote of $149 for the room. After an initial "Ouch" response, the agent lowered the price to $109 due to a promotion. He then asked for the BEST rate...$79. But then he's a member of AAA...ok now he only has to pay $72. Great story...the catch? It didn't happen at a Vegas hotel...the hotel in question was in Chicago. Now, I'd think that if you're going to buy a Vegas guide, you want VEGAS stories, not Chicago ones. But so much of the book is about Vegas, that you tend to ignore little details like that if you don't read the stories carefully. And that is not the only story in the book where you will find little fallacies like that.

So be SURE when you read the tips and tricks, that you take them with a grain of salt. But if you're already IN vegas or know where you will stay and just want to choose activities or eateries, you probably won't find any guide much better.

The book was good if you are a fly fisherman and want that specific information. The author is not a professional writer by any means but is humorous. The book should sell 50% less.

The focus of this book is mostly small streams in the Eastern Sierra so if your goals are catching lunkers this may not be your book. If catching a lot of small trout is good for you then this book is for you. The author details many locations and provides some very useful tips such as how to avoid altitude sickness which may be an issue you did not think about before going up there. The tips about gear sound good to me but I have yet to make the trip so I will know more later.

I bought this book straight from the Author. Just recieved it this morning in the mail, and have already read it from cover to cover. Beautiful pictures, coupled with great, and entertaining information. Anyone thinking about fly fishing the Eastern Sierra's from Lone Pine to Mono Lake should have this book!!

My review of From Brothel to Ballot Box starts with a newspaper article which appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal several years ago. The gist of the article was that a woman named Jessi Winchester, Mrs. Virginia City, would be competing in Las Vegas for the title of Mrs. Nevada. What made this non-story newsworthy was that Ms. Winchester was a working brothel prostitute. The article headline trumpeted Mrs. Virginia City's occupation, and even ran a picture.

Competing in this pageant was one of the bravest things I had ever seen a woman do. I said to my wife, "This lady deserves some encouragement. She's going to need it." She agreed, and we sent a small check to Jessi Winchester, Mrs. Virginia City, Virginia City, Nevada to help defray the costs of competing in the contest. She wrote back a nice thank you note and described the 1880's gowns she had made for the event, enclosed a picture, and invited us to the pageant, which we couldn't attend. But we asked her to call to tell us the outcome as soon as it was over. She did, at the edge of tears, desperately hurt at the shoddy treatment she had received at the hands of her fellow contestants and of the contest organizers. I was and am ashamed of my fellow Las Vegans for their cruelty and bad manners.

A review of From Brothel to Ballot Box, unlike most book reviews, must start not with what it is but with what it isn't. This is not a polished piece of literature from the pen of a master wordsmith. It is not carefully crafted. Neither is it a puff piece designed to curry favorable reviews and achieve some ulterior purpose. Nor is it cautious and politically correct. The book, like the author, is intense, funny, insightful, sad, happy, hopeful, despairing, angry, thoughtful. But not in any particular order. It is written like a conversation one would have with a raconteur friend at the dinner table and over drinks by the fire. It is a book written from the gut. It is an "I am." It is "Credo."

Jessi Winchester is a romantic midwest farm kid who believes, truly believes the Fourth of July rhetoric that we used to hear from the bandshell in the city park after the parade. She believes that the promises of the Declaration of Independence apply to her personally, and to her countrymen individually and that the Constitution is the instrument to guarantee that they do. She believes in the notion that the most capable people should fill the toughest jobs. She believes in family and friends and loyalty and honesty and fair play. She is willing to take risks for what she believes in. And she believes in testing herself against the world.

She marries a cop, starts a family, goes through a divorce, takes up motorcycles and movie stunt work, and becomes a movie executive. And falls in love. Her new husband, Michael, is severely injured in a accident, and the family, now in Nevada, must have an income. So Jessi, after discussing the move at length with Michael and the kids, goes to work in a Nevada brothel. And thus begins the odyssey.

By the time the book ends, Jessi has taken us from the Mustang Ranch through two statewide contests for public office. The names of the Nevada politicians and party figures, some of whom I know personally, will mean nothing to most readers. They aren't necessary to the story, and their actions are undeserving of any ink from me. This is a book about an American willing to attempt great things and to overcome disillusionment by the hypocrisy of "the system." This is a book you will want to give to your sons and daughters and say, "Here is a woman to be proud of. Here is a woman who rises above petty labels and phony respectability to pursue worthy goals. Here is the kind of person an American should strive to be."

Several books are on the market about Nevada's brothels. I have read three. One was by a madam and was quite interesting from her point of view. One was by a person who wasn't even part of the sex business and was doing a condom study instead at a brothel. Her book was not very good. From Bordello to Ballot Box was written by an actual working girl, which makes a huge difference. Not only does Ms. Winchester show the human side of sex workers, she battled the evil world of politics and made people see her as a human being. Her book is very compelling and brings a lot of emotions to the surface. I couldn't put it down.

Jessi Winchester's book, FROM BORDELLO TO BALLOT BOX, shows the side of American politics we all knew about but hoped wouldn't happen (until shortly after it was published).

The book is remarkably endearing in discussing the author's life, from the stated date of her birth (you'd never think it) up to the writers' strike of 1988 which prompted her to leave an exeuctive job in Hollywood. A lot of autobiographies, even by and about "nice" people, don't show warmth or a range of emotion.

The part everybody wants to read, of course, is about the author's life as a courtesan. It is thankfully tame, with the most hair-raising parts detailing her relationships with other women of the brothels. There is also a separate section about Joe Conforte, a brothel-chain owner, which probably should have been moved to the discussion of brothel life. Conforte sounds and acts like a mobster, and appears to have had much to do in influencing hostile attitudes toward brothels.

Once Ms. Winchester gets into the political arena, the best parts are the friction between Northern Nevada (which is 99% of the state's area but barely half its population) and Las Vegas, which confirmed its reputation as Sin City in quite a new way. A parade of political figures, some of them difficult to follow, court votes in Vegas and ignore Reno, Carson City and other locations in the rest of the big state. No wonder, because Vegas seems to have billions of dollars to siphon off in corruption, making the rest of the state look like a quarter slot machine.

The book ends with an impassioned plea for third parties to combat the "annointment" system for candidates by Republicans and Democrats. This was written before the Reform Party disintegrated under Pat Buchanam's Presidential campaign, and also before Jesse Ventura (whom the author likes) began plans to announce for the Extreme Football League. It will undoubtedly leave a bad taste in the mouths of many supporters of the two major political parties, and require much careful planning and support of specific issues before independent candidates win many offices.

As an expose' of politics as usual, this book offers little hope. As an autobiography, it is a charm and is well worth reading as a story of setting up The American Dream and working toward it. And, whatever she might say, you know she is still working toward it.

Neither my husband nor myself had ever taken a trip out to Las Vegas before. We had heard tons about it from various other friends that had been and were overwhelmed trying to plan out exactly what the two of us wanted to see or visit. The portable guidebook came in very handy when we were trying to figure out what entertainment and sights we had to choose from other than the obvious....casinos.

Frommer's Portable Las Vegas is an invaluable source when visiting Las Vegas. I just went on my first trip to Las Vegas and this book was small and light enough to fit in my purse. It gives you all the essential information without all the "fluff" and details of the larger books. I suggest you get a larger book (like Frommer's Las Vegas 2000) to keep in your hotel room but get the portable book for carrying around with you.

My best friend and I are planning a trip to Vegas (A Thelma and Louise Adventure) and this book was a great source of information! Good eats, places you must visit, sites for deals. Plus it fits right in your pocket!

Don't pass this book up!