University of Nevada Books

For those daring enought to enter the world of casino operations, this book is a must read. It is filled with a carefully laid out analysis and explanation of the casino operations. This is a subject that is extremely difficult to find actual documentation regarding such simple things as net win. A first rate choice for the casino operator.

Written by John C. Putman (associate professor of history, San Diego State University), Class and Gender Politics in Progressive-Era Seattle is a scholarly look at he changing social order in early twentieth century Seattle. Examining the intersection of radical-labor movements, feminist movements, suffrage campaigns, Class and Gender Politics in Progressive-Era Seattle reveals how the alliances and conflicts between these movements contributed to Seattle's regional identity. "Unlike most eastern labor struggles, class conflict out west was more localized. The lack of large-scale national industrial firms meant that Seattle workers had to battle locally entrenched economic and political elites rather than national corporate leaders." An astute socio-historical analysis, particularly recommended for college library collections.

Written by history teacher David Beesley, who served as an associate of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project and presented part of its report to Congress, Crow's Range: A Environmental History of the Sierra Nevada is an amazing chronicle of the Sierra Nevada mountain range that stretches across four hundred miles of California and Nevada. Chapters discuss the impact that native people, the gold rush, conservation efforts, and modern ecosystem politics have had upon these majestic mountains throughout history, especially during the mid-1800's to the modern day. An extensively researched history, sporting a wealth of notes, a thorough bibliography, and an index, Crow's Range is an enthusiastically recommended historical resource for lay readers and environmentalists alike.

"A Cup of Tea in Pamplona" actually has nothing to do with tea or Pamplona (the city famous for its running of the bulls) and frankly I think Laxalt could have found a better title. The book is a poignant novel about Basque smugglers, set in the 1960s. In his recent book, "The Land of My Fathers", Laxalt lamented the extinction of the "contrabandiers" (as they're known in France) when Spain entered the European Union, regretting that "something of the romantic past has been lost". In this slim and rapid-fire novel, though, Laxalt makes no bones about the ugly, desperate, and sometimes violent world of the "romantic past" of Basque smugglers.

The story revolves around Nikolas, an impoverished Basque with a wife and infant sons who, driven by financial despair and in spite of his wish to live a respectable life, takes on work as a "contrabandier" for Gregorio, the "patrón" of a small team of smugglers. As the narrator comments, Nikolas "[breaks] the pattern in a land where patterns were not made to be broken. If your father was a cobbler, then it followed that you were a cobbler. If your father was a peasant, then you had better remain a peasant, too. If you were born poor, then it was your duty to remain poor." Gregorio argues him out of tradition, though, reminding Nikolas (correctly) that a man cannot feed and clothe his family with "the substance of respectability" and, besides, smuggling "was not like stealing from a neighbor. The only victim was the government, and who had ever felt sorry for a government?"

Gregorio arranges to have Nikolas lead a team of other smugglers (including Luis, Nikolas' brother-in-law) in an effort to smuggle fifty horses over the frontier straddling the ridge of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. If they are caught by the French border guards, they'll spend time in jail, which can mean ruin for a poor man. Worse, if they struggle with the guards, it can mean death on the mountain.

Does the novel end in tragedy or does the team successfully make it over? Laxalt doesn't drop hints beforehand. Neither will I. However it ends, "A Cup of Tea in Pamplona" is a weighty indictment of the grinding poverty that led Basques into smuggling. It offers a good glimpse into social conditions in the Basque Country, and though it isn't an "ethnic" novel or "quaint" in any way, you'll come away knowing something about customs and social relations in the Basque Country forty years ago. Additionally, Laxalt has an ear for terse narration and realistic dialogue free of clichés, plus the ability to weave a intense, continually engrossing plot.

I'm thinking about travelling in the Pyrenees next spring and found this book a great way to get a feel for the place. And having read Laxalt before, I can also say that I'll definitely read him again. A+ and 5 stars.

I bought this book and am glad I did. It gives a VERY thorough
history of the "Wire Act"....which was set up in the 1960s -- by
Robert Kennedy -- a hero of mine -- of all people!

I had thought that the "Wire Act" was set up in the 1930s or 1940s
....so I learnt something by my preliminary perusal of this
book. However, so upset am I that the most recent enlargment of
the Wire Act....which now prohits internet gaming for real money,
to American citizens and residents....that I just can't read
through the entire book. I am too mad, and too sad....the newest
enlargement of the Wire Act was passed so sneakily, too -- tacked
on to another bill -- and many congresspeople voting for one bill
did not even know they were voting for the "anti-internet gaming
bill", tacked onto it.

This book is printed on exellent paper, with a nice large-sized
print. From my prelimary perusal, it appears to be a very thorough
history of how the "Wire Act" came about. I recommend it heartily
to anyone who has the stomach to read this book....through his or
her tears, and/or anger.

For myself, though, it brings to mind a
scene from the film, "Blue Denim", starring Carol Lynly and Brandon
de Wilde. It is an early 1960s film, about two likable, suburban
teens, who find themselves, "in trouble", after one night of
thoughtless, er...."togetherness". With the guy's best friend, they
try desperately to find a solution to their dilemma. In this scene,
Carol Lynly's character is looking through a book. After studying it,
she says, (paraphrased): "They tell you all about how it happens....
but they don't tell you how to stop it."

And so, "Cutting The Wire", also tells you "all about it", (in "Blue Denim, "it" is pregnancy. In "Cutting The Wire", 'it" is
a law which prevents American people from legally gaming online.) But,
sadly, and perphaps, at this point, inevitably, cannot tell us "how to stop it"....and allow Americans the right to game/gamble online, for
real money, legally once again. A practice allowed in the UK, Canada,
Australia, Lithuania, Sweden...and so many other countries, (where --
surprise? -- there has been NO upsurge of mob influence, and NO upsurge
in hedonism) -- is, at this writing, denied to those living in "the Land of the Free....and the Home of the Brave." (For those interested in
trying to change things, I recommend the website: www.pokerplayersalliance.org)

Perhaps I expected too much of this book....I searched and searched for
a way "to end it", (the Wire Act and its extentions)....but couldn't --
or perhaps am too upset and too angry to give the book the thorough
perusal that I should. If -- as my own plan would do -- taxing gaming
winnnings at twice that of other income, allowing losses to be deducted
at only half that of other income, making proficiency tests mandatory,
and allowing play only by 18 year olds and over, and only at interent
casinos based in the US, or in the countries of our allies, (Canada,
England, Turkey, Manilla, etc.).....what would be the harm? Earning
$100 a day is sure a lot easier than earning $36,500 over a weekend at
Las Vegas or Atlantic City. This could lead to more responsible gaming
== people earning a little bit every day -- a habit which could lead to
the shouldering of more responisbility in other aspects of life as well.

I truly wish that "Cutting The Wire" had delved into these matters. But
it is a thorough, well-researched history of "how the (gaming) Dark Ages
came upon us"....but not, sadly, (as I had so hoped for), some suggestions on how to end them.

Perhaps only time, (and our next President, who-ever he or she may be),
will tell.....

A memorable insight into a strange, but functional and fascinating, marriage with three children involved, and many mistresses. Dolly knew going in that Zane was a writer, traveller, adventurer, and a womanizer. From his early days as a dentist and then a struggling writer, to becoming one of the most successful American writers of all times, the letters take you along on their life together. I was not always happy with him, or her, but somehow they held it together. In modern times, I suppose we call it "giving him space" to do his hunting and fishing, finding sources and inspiration for his writing, and of course to get off with his ladies, at times two or three together. The couple had their rough spots, and I thought some of the humorous entries were where Zane was trying to keep his women separated and not bickering, and Dolly was trying to help him sort it out. Zane was good at philandering, wasting money, etc., but Dolly held it together. I liked them both, but being a father, I can only imagine the confusion and anxiety of the children. Good information about early publishing days and the film industry. Well edited with commentary by the author and mahalo to the Nevada University Press for getting the letters out for a more complete understanding of a great Western writer.

This book has beautiful photos. It is an amazing river, considering its short run. I bought this for my Dad, but (secretly) I wanted it for myself.
I wish there was more info on the Truckee Meadows ditches;...

Nevada has always struggled with what advertising people would refer to as an image problem. With the exception of the gaming meccas of Las Vegas and Reno, the last century considered it so barren and worthless as to be the ideal location for a Nuclear Test Site. The current generation has deemed it worthy of being a national Hazardous Waste Dump. It is rare indeed to hear a tourist or travel agent describe Nevada as having beautiful scenery or landscape as is often the case with New Mexico, Utah, Arizona or Colorado. This book, in words and pictures, paints a different picture and what a sight it is.
Accomplished writer Ann Ronald has spent 30 years viewing Nevada landscapes and geography with a different aesthetic eye than most observers. Renowned photographer Stephen Trimble has the uncanny ability to record on film some of the most remarkable images of what Ronald describes as "one vast deserted landscape of color and shadow and aesthetic dimension." Together, with the written word and unforgettable images, they paint a picture of the other Nevada that is unforgettable in it's beauty and clarity.
Ronald describes the colors of Nevada, which is at heart the theme of the book, with such clarity that the purple sage, teal sky, mountain mahogany and myriad shades of vermilion, orange and gold virtually leap from the page. However, if the reader does not have an acute imagination for such colors there are the stunning photographs of Trimble that leave no doubt of the magnificence of this state. Seldom does the collaboration between writer and photographer produce results of such beauty and hope.
Highly recommended for readers interested in the "other" Nevada.

Incredibly powerful poetry that shows the world for what it is: a magnificent nightmare of pain and joy, a brilliant collage of depravity and denial, of sadness and transcendence. Brian Young is an emerging genius. There is no other way to describe this idiosyncratic collection that will rip the spleen from your guts and shove it down your throat and still leave you feeling not pain, but wonder. When you finish reading this book you will feel you have been blessed. Read it! Read it! Read it!

Anthony Hunt's book on Gary Snyder's long poem "Mountains and Rivers Without End" is a first-rate compantion to that complex and rewarding work. Snyder's poems are studded with allusions. Those can create a barrier for the reader who is not familiar with a range of Eastern religious beliefs, the geology and folklore of the Pacific Northwest, or Snyder's long and varied personal acquaintance. Anthony Hunt's analysis guides us along. I found that I would read a Snyder poem, read Hunt's discussion of that poem, and then go back to the original with renewed interest and excitement. In addition, the reader of Hunt's book gets an introduction to No Drama and a discussion of the great Chinese landscape scroll that inspired Snyder, among much other background material. Hunt makes Snyder accessible--a great scholarly achievement!