There always seem to be a few lamentations when someone pulls down a Strip icon, but the protests are getting more and more muted. That’s mostly because Las Vegas resort architecture seems to be essentially disposable; it’s built for specific market conditions, and when they change, it is renovated beyond recognition or replaced. It’s just […]
Book review: The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister Read More »
book reviewsFor a long time now, I’ve been a total mark for anything written about con men, tricksters, and legerdemain specialists. Whether it’s fiction, memoir, or how-to, I’ll read it. It’s not that I want to cheat other people, or that I’m paranoid about falling victim to them–it’s my sheer fascination with guys who are masters
Book Review: 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker Read More »
book reviewsJimmy Hoffa, through the lending power of his Central States Pension Fund, had a huge impact on Las Vegas and casino history. I don’t think the definitive statement of that impact has been written yet. That’s not at all a knock on this book: the author’s scope is Hoffa’s whole life, and the Teamster investments
Book review: Out of the Jungle Read More »
book reviewsMy review of Richard Armstrong’s outstanding novel God Doesn’t Shoot Craps.
Book review: God Doesn’t Shoot Craps Read More »
book reviewsA review of Peter Shrag’s Paradise Lost: California’s Experience, America’s Future.
Book review: Paradise Lost Read More »
book reviewsHere’s a brand new review for a book that’s only been out a little more than a month! Am I on the ball, or what? And it’s not a random book that I’ve plucked from the shelves at Lied Library–it’s a poker book. And it’s a good one. Read on, and you’ll see what I
Book review: Ghosts at the Table Read More »
book reviewsI’m back with a brand-new review of a nine year-old book. This is another example of a book jumping off the shelves of UNLV Libraries and into my hands based on little more than a hunch and a quick judge of the book’s cover. Figuring that any book that’s about magicians and features the erstwhile
Book review: The Spirit Cabinet Read More »
book reviewsI’ve always been fascinated by carnivals, carnies, and con-artists. Two of my favorite books, the novel Nightmare Alley and Julian Prosauker’s Suckers All!, the story of honest John Kelly, are set in this milieu. So how does a more recent memoir of life on the carnival pitch fair? Let’s see.
Book review: Eyeing the Flash Read More »
book reviewsI originally reviewed this for the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. Written three years before Positively Fifth Street, this book pioneered the literary take on the World Series of Poker genre.
Book review: The Hand I Played Read More »
book reviewsI read Elif Shafak’s The Flea Palace almost four years ago. I haven’t re-read it since, and don’t own a copy. But it’s still one of my favorite books, and I can still vividly recall much of the writing. Here’s what I had to say about it when I first reviewed it: I saw this
Book review: The Flea Palace Read More »
book reviewsMy reposting of reviews continues. This one is a real gem. If you don’t believe me, look at the cover: Click through to look at the big version of that if you don’t believe me, but yes, that is JFK and, yes, he does figure into the plot. Is he the BP on the count
Book review: The Blackjack Hijack Read More »
book reviewsJames Swain. Loaded Dice. New York: Ballantine Books, 2004. 310 pp, $22.95 (hardcover) When I started this site back in 2005, I posted many reviews as static pages. Now, instead of reformatting them all, I’m reposting them as posts. If you’re a longtime reader, enjoy the nostalgia, and if you’ve just found this site, it’s
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book reviewsBruce Begout. Translated by Liz Heron. Zeropolis: The Experience of Las Vegas. London: Reaktion Books, 2003. Softcover, 126 pp, lots of pictures. They used to say that Las Vegas is where show business careers go to die. Reading this book, I think that we can now say that it’s where philosophers go to make no
Book review: Zeropolis Read More »
book reviewsGeoff Schumacher. Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia, and Palace Intrigue. Las Vegas: Stephens Press, 2008. Hardcover, 292 pp. More than four dozens books about Howard Hughes have been published since the 1960s. It would seem that there’s little more we can learn about his life. Why, then, should you bother to read another book about Hughes?
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book reviewsBurt Dragin. Six to Five Against: A Gambler’s Odyssey. Berkeley: RDR Books, 2005. Six to Five Against is a refreshing, sometimes wincingly honest look at one man’s gambling. Drawing chiefly on his own experiences but supported by Dragin’s investigations into the thrall that gambling holds for many, this is an open, honest, and readable story
Book Review: Six to Five Against Read More »
book reviewsIn what will hopefully be the first of three, I’ve got a new review up in, predictably, the review section. It’s about an excellent, excellent novel called God Doesn’t Shoot Craps: The book is the story of Dante Alighieri “Danny” Pellegrino, a direct mail scam artist, who earns his bread from peddling holy water, chunks
Craps, faith, and paradise Read More »
writing