Nevada Books

This is a look at the life of lawyer Mead Dixon. His early work with gaming properties of Nevada is interesting, but his counsel to Bill Harrah's properties make the best reading. Some good tid-bits here that may not be know to the readers. More life history than gaming history, but R.T.King and Ken Adams present an enjoyable book.

Rudimentary if you know Word but I found the guide a quick way to look up three categories I didn't know.

Riders of the Silver Rim was entertaining and at some parts suspenseful, but i've also read Bodie Thoene's ZION COVENANT, ZION CHRONICLES, and SHILOH LEGACY. Riders of the Silver Rim could have been so much better if the plot had been more developed. The book seemed too rushed. One page something drastic happens and then you turn the page and it ends. The main plot was interesting to read, but(like i said)if it had been more developed it would have been a really great plot. Besides this, the book was fun to read and it makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Bodie Thoene you're doing an awesome job!

We are great fans of Robert Laxalt's writing but this is definitely not one of his best. His description of rabies and its effects on animals and people is good and, we think, probably accurate, and the description of the area and of the Basque sheepherding culture at that time and in that area are excellent. But the details of the plot contain too many improbabilities and it's too bad because Laxalt could do better. Nevertheless, the book is worth reading.

I paid way too much Tom Terry Sells the WHOLE set of 10 for less than I paid for this one volume MY BAD

This is a very funny book title. Imagine how the good people of Utah must feel. How insulting!

This is a book of fiction, a fact unknown by many readers (including myself) at the outset. It's a modest story with a ring of reality, but not in the same class as THE GODFATHER or other top mafia/mob fiction. It's the story of a mob struggle between the Bonanno family and the Chicago outfit to control Las Vegas in the 1980's. Yet the story fails to grab the reader as good fiction should. Perhaps that's because the real story is nicely described in CASINO (by Nicholas Pileggi), which details how Chicago and other Midwest syndicates received millions from casino skims before their scheme was uncovered in the 1980's.

Author William Roemer (1926-1996) was an FBI agent assigned to the Chicago crime syndicate. He writes nicely readable prose, but Roemer does a better job with his non-fictional narratives on the Chicago outfit.

you people who critzed this book are stupid and it was a great book , i have read severl books written by the auther and they are great get off his back like you could write any better

Have to agree with Lars: Accardo is by far the most powerful mob boss in the history of this country. Where the New York mob was split and disorganized and ran a relatively small part of the country, Accardo and the outfit ran practically every other area, not just Chicago, but LA to Vegas to Kansas City and most points in between. The fact Accardo never spent a night in prison is enough to show you how good he was at what he did. Of course, Bonanno was small potatoes compared to the other NY Godfathers, so we'll never be able to tell who would have won a "real" war.

I used to wonder how a crack former FBI agent and organized crime specialist like Bill Roemer could write glowing reviews praising the accuracy of Jay Robert Nash's sensationalist works. Then I ran across War of the Godfathers. What a novel idea--to write a novel using real people as characters. If this is any example, however, the late Mr. Roemer displayed little talent in creative fiction and the plot, revolving around a fictional gang war over Las Vegas between the Bonanno Family and the Chicago Outfit, is totally absurd. War of the Godfathers is way over the top and the nearest thing to restraint is Roemer's untypically immodest disguise of himself as a pseudonymous character. It's not especially well written and on top of everything else, the publisher didn't make it abundantly clear that this was a work of fiction. A large number of folks have been taken in by it, with fictional events such as the murder of Moe Dalitz even being reported as fact in several so-called "true crime" books. I don't understand the point of it to this day.

While the way the book is attempted to be written is clever, as it is almost like a Hollywood script of real events, the book is farfetched and is downright untrue in several instances.One glaring falsehood is that Moe Dalitz was shot down an then was later poisoned in a hospital.Roemer a former FBI agent, should have known better,escpecially considering he wrote briefly about Dalitz real demise in another book.If one takes this book for what it is, a story , it is enjoyable.The one interesting factual aspect about this book is the details given to the famous "STRAWMAN" cases which largely crippled organized crime in the midwest.

I bought this book and read it one day. I found it to be quite interesting, but it isn't exactly the best written book and there are also typos - I would have thought the author would've had it polished it up a bit before it went to print.

But, all in all, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing about how a prostitute who works at a brothel lives. It is told straight from the woman herself. It is also an easy read, so if anyone is looking for a quick book to read, then this is definitely one of them.

This is a frank and honestly written book of ones view of the sexual adult work place on the inside. The writer has taken a trip on the wild side and transformed her personal exploits in her diary to the pages of this book. The book is honestly written and shows the typical days of a legal prostitute. One who reads this will feel as if they are in fact Michelle telling her story and living the lifestyle that has its literal ups and downs.
While the diary is transformed into a book one can feel the daily rollercoaster of pleasure and turmoil. Yes, the book has many misspellings as should that is how the dairy was written without a spelling checker and the transformation of the written style is as naked as the subject on a daily basis

If you're looking for a bedtime story, don't read any further. This book tells it like it is. Working in a brothel is no fairy tale. This book is exactly what it represents itself to be-"a diary"--written first hand by a young woman who happens to like what she does for a living and has chosen to work in a legal brothel rather than as a criminal.

This is not a drama, but a documentary of several months of work. While it is not written to be erotic, it will undoubtedly be for some because of its explicit accounts. If you already know what goes on in a Nevada brothel (or you've been to one, like I suspect one of the unsatisfied reviewers here has), it may not be particularly enlightening.

On the other hand, if you are curious about what kind of person would want to go to work in a brothel and why, then will be an interesting read. You will find that Michelle is typical in every respect (happily married, mother, homeowner, etc.) except that she does not buy into the stigma of prostitution, and instead sees it for what it really is.

This timely account includes recent experiences with military men going to and from Iraq, as well as experiences with men from many other walks of life. Most of the encounters are uneventful; others are interesting, thought provoking. This book is an objective look at the business of prostitution. It can be interesting from the layman's point of view, as well as ethnographic transcript suitable for academic work.

Do not waste your time or money on this book. There is nothing in this book most people do not already know about prostitution or a brothel.

The book contains many spelling and grammar errors. Simply typing the manuscript in MS Word would have caught these glaring mistakes.

The book is in a diary form by date of a prostitute's eight months spent in a brothel. Most of the entries are mundane and fail to tell the reader what we would really want to know about life in a brothel.

Examples include: "January 9, 2004. Woke up and got breakfast. Took a shower and got ready for the day." That was no different than what you or I might do on a typical day.

From Februay 9, 2004: "One of my earrings broke. I had a matching bracelet that broke in another session." How revealing that was! I can't wait until we find out when she breaks a nail.

From April 23, 2004: "I got up, had breakfast, and showered. It was about nine thirty am."

I could go on but I think you get the picture. What I would like to have read was stories about customers and life in a brothel that no one but an insider would know about.

The author seems to be an intelligent person, but she complains on page 100 about a ring, given to her by a customer, turns her finger green. She surmises the ring must be gold plated and not 18 "karate" gold as the customer told her. Anyone familiar with jewelry knows that a gold plated ring will turn turn your finger green. Only genuine gold will do that as it reacts with the acid in one's system. She said she threw the ring away. This makes me question how intelligent she really is. Plus, the ring is 18 "karat" gold, not 18 "karate" gold. This is a perfect example of the lack of proofreading that was not performed for this book.

I was greatly disappointed in the book and I imagine most anyone else will be also. There is nothing of substance in the book, just one mundane entry after another.

any female who can admit to sleeping with 2 or 3 men without a shower or brushing her teeth has a real personal problem in my opinion. she also states that she leaves her husband every so often to travel to Nevada to work.....nice man that husband, I wonder, does she also have intimacy with him without showering and brushing her teeth?
Needless to say, I was left with no repect for this woman, and regardless of her choice of profession, she obviously doesn't respect herself.

I really enjoy Fleeman's book. This book is just "ok". I think if you have an interest in bodybuilding this book would be more interesting.
The author focuses to much on the sport then on the victim herself.

I'm almost done with this book...it's not as bad as some people say. But having known Craig & Kelly for the past 10 years, I do laugh at some of the glossed over details in the book. The wild lifestyle was mentioned only to be "rumored", however many close friends knew that it was true.

I guess the author could have dug alot deeper and went farther afield to get additional information. He seemed to stick to the same characters from which to gather his information. A few were Craig & Kelly's enemies...some were indifferent and some were well-meaning but clueless and coming more from the "fan" viewpoint.
It is true however that many of their longtime friends lost touch, especially as they sunk deeper into partying and drugs and "alternative" activities.

One thing not mentioned was that Craig & Kelly offered Weekend Training Getaway Packages for sale at their home ...the person who bought this type of package would get to train with them at their house, hang out with Craig & Kelly...get to use the pool and "private" jacuzzi...and hopefully something more would happen...that was Craig's big idea.

Craig & Kelly did end up living a troubled life mostly due to Craig. In my own opinion Craig was and is a psychopath. Before Kelly met Craig she was a dynamic, talented, warm and loving individual. Her friends miss and care about her very much. Kelly's mother passed away recently, many say due to the horrible stress from this case.

All I can say is that when Kelly met Craig and they got married, all of us who knew them both, and knew the type of person Craig was understood that nothing good would come of the marriage...but we never envisioned anything like this.

Most importantly, drugs and wild lifestyles lead to tragedy and my heart truly goes out to Melissa James and her entire group of friends and family and it was very nice of the author to include some very lovely pics of Melissa in the book as tribute.

This book is not one of the author's best works. It is mediocre at best to describe it. It does reveal a world of bodybuilding that I have never been much of a fan about. This book describes bodybuilders, Craig Titus, and Kelly Ryan, who appeared like the ideal couple, in love and devoted to each other. They are guilty of murdering young Melissa James who was employed and lived with them in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Sadly, Melissa's dreams were crushed by her killers' cruelty. They cared more about the jaguar than they did about Melissa James. The author could have shown more pictures featuring Craig and Kelly. The only photo of them together is pretty vague. Melissa had her problems but she was going home and for whatever reason, Craig and Kelly couldn't let her go or lose. They hate losing. The book is an easy read for me but it's not that interesting unless you are in the sports scene.

I wanted to give this book three stars but since everyone else is so hostile toward it, I'm adding another star because it's not as bad as the other reviews say.

Yes, KILLER BODIES is about an ongoing murder trial that hasn't hit the courtroom yet. At this time, Titus and Ryan aren't scheduled to go to trial until April of 2008, so this book is definitely not the definitive answer on this case.

It is rushed but doesn't feel as sloppy as other books (certainly not as slapdash and hurried as the first book on the Titus-Ryan murder, FIRE IN THE DESERT, a hasty publication that can't even decide on a common margin for each page--but good photos though!). The only mistake that jumped out at me in KILLER BODIES was that Kelly's car is identified as a Corvette in the photo pages instead of a Jaguar (have you ever tried to put a dead body in the trunk of a Corvette?). The photo section is the lamest aspect since Titus and Ryan, bodybuilding and fitness stars who appeared on dozens of magazine covers, are shown in only one photo.

The writing itself is lean and fast-moving, for the most part. I know some of the people in the book personally, so I might be looking at this in a completely different light than others.

I hope anyone reading this book isn't expecting the final word on this sad drama. It's only a competently written overview of the case with modest glimpses into the characters, no more, no less.

As it is, it's not as bad as the other reviews are saying but you'll need to wait until judgment falls before reading anything more conclusive.

I CANNOT believe that St. Martin's published this as a true crime! This latest publication by Michael Fleeman served more as a quick printed biography about two of bodybuilding's famed members than it was about the alleged murder of Melissa James.

The book begins with the finding of Kelly Ryan's burning jaguar in the desert and the finding of a body in the trunk. The next few pages are dedicated to the autopsy findings (which proved nothing more than James had high amounts of drugs in her system and "some" evidence of what could be strangulation) and then the reader must go through 150+ pages of Fleeman relaying the story of Craig Titus' and Kelly Ryan's life as bodybuilders. There is NO mention of Melissa James during these pages.

Once the reader FINALLY returns to story of the "scandal" as promised on the cover, the information is nothing more than "he said, she said" dribble; with fellow bodybuilder friends providing "evidence" for the police.

And, sadly enough, the book is rushed to publication before the trial. As it stands, Titus and Ryan remain in jail awaiting trial. A quick search on Google shows that, to date, the trial is set for October 18, 2007.

Don't waste your money on this one; at least not until the updated version is released that actually provides a finale. Even then, I'd only recommend reading it if you're really into bodybuilding as that it the majority topic of the book.

I buy one of these maps for every city I visit. I bought the London one first and found an incredible price on a hotel right in the middle of everything because of it. These maps always have the highlights of each city that you may not find in tour books. Restaurants, hotels, shops, and other attractions are listed and it is easy to figure out what things are within walking distance of one another.

Returned it, as I can get a better map from AAA for FREE!

This is the most worthless map I have ever seen. I think these people were too concerned with the artistic aspect, and they failed to create something useful. And as a guide book? HA! A couple of sentences about a few select sights does not make a guidebook. If you want something pretty to look at while at home, then this would probably be fine. But don't bother taking it to Bermuda with you.

Sent it back, I can get a better map for free from AAA.

A MUST for first time visitors to vegas. Recommended for use BEFORE you get there. The site seeing and dining guides included on this map make planning a trip much easier.