Nevada Books

Many books have been written about the Comstock Lode, and the haydays from 1859 to 1880. But not much has been written about the men that put together the " Big Bonanza" It is really interesting, about how the discovery and development of the Big Bonanza came into being.

Also it tell of what was done by the Bonanza Crowd, ( McKay, Fair Flood and O'Brian, with their new found wealth, and what they did with it.
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Anyone interested in early Nevada and Comstock history will like this book.

I first read the "Silver Kings: The Lives and Times of MacKay, Fair, Flood, and O'Brien, Lords of the Nevada Comstock Lode", because there was a family story that James G. Fair might be a lost relative. If he is it's quite distant, but the book was so interesting that I've since read everything I could get my hands on about the Comstock Lode and it's characters. Virginia City really did more as the birth place of the myths and truths of the Old West than did Tombstone or Dodge City. I am also an "Earp" buff and have read much available on the "Gun Fight" related characters. Even Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, was a reporter for the Virginia City newspaper during his early days. The book was fantastic. I'm glad to see it in reprint as I will give it as gifts to some of my friends. I had hunted long and hard for my old copy. If you like stories of the Old West you will enjoy this one. And the stories are true.
Senator Mike Fair
Oklahoma State Senator

Whether jazzoid or square, if you're a mystery reader, don't miss this one. A heretofore undiscovered Clifford Brown tape has shown up, and collectors are salivating. Is it real, or is it a clever counterfeit? If it's a counterfeit, who the hell is blowing the trumpet that sounds exactly like Clifford Brown? The questions are enough to cause a murder and suspicions all around. A fun read.
Milt Ghivizzani

this book by bill moody reaches a new standard by having a black culture presented in jazz and a murder mystery all in one. i wish there were more mysteries from a black culture

I stayed at the "Dust" in the late 1960's and I always went back. If you ever stayed, you'll love this book. It covers all the TIMES, evn Lefty Rosenthal's time. If you look close, you'll see the current(2008) mayor Oscar Goodman at the defense table for Lefty. Mayor Goodman was Lefty's mouthpiece in the early days. Best of Times in Vegas and best wishes.
St Louis Frank www.7dice7.com

I actually bought this book in the lobby of the Stardust a week before it closed. Initially, I found it morbid that they already spoke of the Stardust in past tense about what a shame it was gone as I sat in my hotel room... in the Stardust. It was like talking about someone in past tense while they're in the room listening to your conversation, not quite as dead as conversation would lead one to believe.

That aside, the book tells a lot of history of the hotel/casino, and is filled with lots of great pictures and fond memories of guests and employees of the Stardust. The book covers a lot of behind-the-scenes aspects of the casino, the shows that ran during its existence, and the celebrities which frequented the casino.

I think the saddest part of the book was the fact that it really did point out how innovative the Stardust was in changing the face of entertainment on the Strip. Such a great hotel with a lot of personality, closed down to make way for yet another casino/hotel/condo/mall hybrid Vegas seems so intent on placing all over the Strip in lieu of everything else these days.

Since buying the book, I've been back to Vegas, and now the Stardust is indeed closed in the past tense, and torn apart in a lot of places to be readied for implosion. After reading the book and looking at the ruins, I found a bittersweet sense of admiration for a casino that seemed to be so important to so many people, and now is shortly about to be wiped away from existence forever.

An interesting and sentimental read for those who enjoy the history of 1950's Vegas and enjoyed the casino itself.

I glanced through this book while waiting for service in a local bank. I was so impressed with the pictures and drawings that I am ordering it for my husband's birthday. By that time I'll have found my glasses and will be able to enjoy the words too. Great detail about Nevada.

It was simply unbelievable. I was amazed at the sheer horse sense that it showed. The illustrations were breathtaking and I thank my lucky stars that I read it. I love Ron Oden who is so beautiful. His use of color was breathtaking. If there is a god it is Ron Oden.

This is one of the best resources available to readers interested in how Native Americans approach the Native American Church as well as to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into how Indians relate to one another, to spirituality and to white people. The NAC promotes family ties and acting with responsibility and integrity, which is why its members are invariably amongst the most hardworking and successful members of the tribe. This brilliant little book shows the pragmatism, common sense and clear-headedness with which Native peoples approach 'spirituality' and there are many poignant paragraphs about the relationship to the sacred and the thin line between the sacred and the mundane.

A rare find, this book. It reads easily, is superbly edited and provides an uncensored overview of NA sttitude towards life. Highly recommended.

Straight With The Medicine: Narratives Of Washoe Followers Of The Tipi Way is a twentieth anniversary edition of the original narratives collected in the 1950's from seven Washoe Tribe members living on the eastern slopes of the Sierra in California and Nevada, with eleven new chapters added with additional detail and narrative. Straight With The Medicine is recorded in the first person by Warren d'Azevedo, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno. The narratives he collected deal with the Washoe Tribe's use of Medicine, or peyote, to follow along the right Path, the Indian Way. They refer to their religion as the Tipi Way. It is a rich source of ceremonial and mundane information. The principles and ideals and practices of the Washoe Tribe are described and referred to in everyday terminology. Though the text is in English, not Washoe, there is reference to the Washoe language and its use and practice. To understand the mystery of ceremonial use of peyote by the Washoe Tribe, Straight With The Medicine is a rich collection of personal experiences, of significant value to Native American studies and anthropology students as well. Straight With The Medicine is a welcome and informative addition to personal, academic, and community library Native American Studies collections.

I have owned this book for many years, and it's a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to explore this way of life. Many clear photographs illustrate the techniques and skills within, which include items for hunting, basketry, gathering materials, and much more. No other book does as much to illustrate how the Paiutes and other nearby tribes survived and thrived in the harsh Great Basin area of California and Nevada.

The knowledge and images were captured at an important moment in time -- by talking to and learning from some of the few remaining traditional elders of the region, the author has preserved a little more of the Old Ways that might have been gone forever or lost to the memories of but a very few. We owe a lot to her for the creation of this book.

My grandmother wrote this book. It is dedicated to a people who's fathers survived with stone tools and whose son's saw a man walk on the moon.

My grandmother tried to record the vansishing skills of her friends, the Paiutes of Tonapa, Washoe, and Goldfield. Female anthropologists were rare, and my grandmother was a rare and special woman.

Sensitive to the people she recorded. Savage to those that threatened them.

Here is a story not in the book but that you must know. A man scraping bat guano out of caves refused to stop despite my grandmothers please that is was destroying a priceless archaeological find. With no law protecting indian artifacts she took matter's into her own hands and dynamited the mountain-creating the famous "hidden caves". Three years before her death from diabetes she revealed their location and today she is a state heroine in Nevada.

Any student of Native American history must read this book by this exceptional woman and compare. She was as brave as the West, and made of the same land as her old friends in the book.

I bought this book a couple of weeks ago. It really is a fun and interesting twist on entertainment. I was hoping to gain information on the community, and I did. But I also was blown away by how many tours are in this book and how much fun we had. I really enjoyed the golf ball tour and I really liked the vitamin tour. These were unknowns at the time. If I had a grip with the book, it would be that the author put free days of musuems and galleries plus free festival in the back of the book and I don't have enough time to do all the stuff listed in the book. It is a good book though and will get to as much as possible with my schedule, promise!!!

This book is a great reference if you are thinking about going to Southern California on a limited budget. There are plenty of places the author highlights that are not found in other books (trust me I have purchased plenty of CA books). The tours are appropriate for the kids as well. Plus you have over 100 to choose from, meaning you could tour for weeks on end and still have places to go. If you are vacationing in California, consider getting the book. It is a great find for the limited budget.

Written by journalist Nancy Zubiri, the newly updated second edition of A Travel Guide to Basque America: Families, Feasts, and Festivals is an amazing guide to Basque-American communities, particularly the ones found in California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana. From a brief history of Basque immigration and culture, to traditional Basque recipes, customs and polite rules of etiquette to abide by in Basque communities, and more, A Travel Guide to Basque America is the "must-have" reference for anyone interested in experiencing this unique and proud culture. A conversational narrative style spells out the locations of restaurants and popular festivals, while black-and-white maps and photographs serve as visual aids.

This is one of the best "Basque" books I have read. Being Basque I am always curious to find out where Basques live and their history. This books tells all. It tells where Basques lived in the late 1800's and early 1900's and where you can find them now a days. I will definately take this book with me when we go travelling around the U.S. I am also going to purchase a few more copies for my relatives. I know they'll love it as much as I do!!!!!

Marshall Bowen, a distinguished professor of geography at Mary Washington college, describes in great detail the farming settlement occuring around Wells, NV in the early 20th century. He describes factors that caused people to come to this marginal land, what led to their eventual failure and the aftermath. In particular, the author looks at people from Utah who settled here. If you have any interest in frontier settlement or the Utah/Nevada region, this book is an excellent read

Never in a million years would I expect to find a book about Mormon settlers in the Utah desert interesting. Yet this book was extremely interesting and informative. But, this should be no surprise because that has always been Dr. Bowen's gift. I had the pleasure of taking 3 Geography courses with him at Mary Washington College and he was as interesting in person as he is on print. Dr. Bowen could turn the most dry Geography course into the most interesting class on campus. In a country where most people do not know a thing about Geography, just watch Jay Leno, we need people like Dr. Bowen who can teach and entertain at the same time. He is the Patch Adams of Geography! Read this book and even better...go to MWC and take his class.

I've read other Alan Hess books- Googie come to mind. I really enjoyed Hess's style for this book. Alan Hess writes an occasional column for the San Jose Mercury News concerning architecture. He did not leave me disappointed with this book. It was evident that Alan Hess enjoyed this place as much as I did on my last visit to Sin City!

This book came out in 1993. If you're looking for information on the newer hotels that have sprung up, the ones that came and left during then and now, you won't find it here. You will find details about the ones that were imploded during the 90's, which was a nice resource for those of us that were curious about the Sands, Dunes, Hacienda and the Aladdin. It's also an indication of just how much the strip has evolved from the timeline of the publishing of this book and what is the strip looks today, year 2001. An excellent study of the architecture changes of Vegas and its reflections on the rest of the U.S.

If you buy one book about the colorful history and architecture of the Golden Age of Las Vegas to the present, THIS IS IT!!! This wonderful book is expertly researched with many many old drawings, postcards, photos, and more!