Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the Twenty-First Century

Book Description

Praise for the Previous Edition (0 415 92612 2):
"...lively and provocative...this book will teach you something startling on nearly every page..."
--The New York Times Book Review

Like the Emerald City, Las Vegas glitters brightly in the vast Nevada desert, a haven for refugees from ordinary America. A hip, iconic, playground that exports nothing, it nonetheless earns billions from consumer services alone -- gambling, hotels, gaming, and entertainment. It is, historian Hal Rothman argues, the quintessential city of the future.
As other cities try to mirror its success and huge, respectable corporations like Coca-Cola invest in a piece of the pie, the very traits that have ostracized Las Vegas in the past -- hedonism, money worship, and permissiveness -- have today made it America's fastest growing urban center. From the gambling-driven, mob-run Sin City of the 1940s to the corporatization of the Strip as a respectable family entertainment center after the 1970s, Las Vegas has shown incredible economic resilience and adaptability.
The first full account of America's new dream capital, Neon Metropolis brilliantly shows how Las Vegas gambled on the post-industrial service economy well before the rest of the country knew it was coming, and won.

Customer Reviews:

One Man's View.......2007-05-14

I like the way Rothman writes. I also recognize that this is one man's view of how Las Vegas became what it is. I think anyone asking what happened to unions should read this book.

Good (if biased) information but poor writing style.......2004-09-22

Overall, Neon Metropolis presents an overview of the history and sociology of modern Las Vegas. Rothman's focus is on modern Las Vegas, so readers looking for more of a straightforward history starting before the twentieth century may be disappointed. This book is best for readers looking to understand the development of the modern casino and entertainment industry or for readers looking to understand how Las Vegas functions behind-the-scenes as a modern city.

The book not only describes the development of gambling and entertainment along the Las Vegas Strip but also describes the immigration of people to Las Vegas and the problems caused by Las Vegas's high growth rate and desert location. Special attention is given to such simple things as the development of city infrastructure and the use of Hispanic immigrant labor, things that would otherwise be ignored in the history of any other city. Rothman thereby gives his readers a pespective into how both the casino industry developed and how the city as a whole developed. Rothman is also unafraid to critically analyze the problems facing Las Vegas as a modern day city, although his positions on some issues (such as labor unions) are clearly biased.

Aside from questionable biased viewpoints on some issues, Neon Metropolis suffers from being written with poor English. Rothman's largest problem is that he writes sentences that are too long to be readable. It is sometimes difficult to determine what some sentences are trying to say. Rothman also likes to use very bad metaphors and cliches. It seems as though he is trying to be funny or clever, but instead he simply sounds trite. Additional organizational problems and grammatical errors further hinder this book's readability.

In summary, I would recommend this book to readers who seriously wants to understand Las Vegas. For casual readers, however, I would recommend passing on this book unless the author produces a new version that includes some serious revisions.

correction of stupid review.......2004-05-24

Boy, I'll tell you: there's nothing worse than a reviewer who either didn't read or can't understand a book. Neon Metroplis does not argue that Las Vegas is economically malleable at all. It says that Las Vegas thrives as a tourist town because the image it presents is malleable - that it can change to meet the trends. All you have to do is remember the so-called family era - with theme parks etc. - of a decade ago and look at the ads today: "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," to see that this is true.

Neon Metropolis also says that Las Vegas is the one horse in a one-horse state; as anyone who followed 2003's tax debacle in Nevada could see, this is ever more true.

Las Vegas' problems are real and Neon Metropolis is a lot more conversant with them than these two reviews suggest. This is by far the best book on Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Economically Malleable? NOT!.......2004-03-16

One of the central theses of this book is that Las Vegas has miraculously "adopted" to the changing economy and has thus prospered more than other major U.S. cities by taking advantage of emerging social and economic trends. The author imagines that Las Vegas is some sort of highly malleable economic miracle machine that rolls with the punches, survives and prospers hugely while other places dependant on more recession-sensitive industries such as technology, manufacturing, and medical research ebb and flow. What nonsense!

Las Vegas, and to an even greater extent its cradle of growth Clark County, have never adopted to ANY emerging economic trend, unless you count the undesirable trend of industrial-scale gaming penetration together with huge resort casinos into every corner of the city, including formerly-protected residential neighborhoods. Quite the contrary, the city has never done anything other than repackage marketing themes that sell gambling and an increasingly aggressive sex industry, advertisements for which pervade just about available public space one views from an automobile. Hide you eyes, kids!

Las Vegas' economic success is certainly not based on economic malleability and adaptability. It is based on 30 years worth of cheap housing, abundant low wage jobs, weak consumer protection, and almost non-existent restraints on development of raw land. Throw in a state and a county government run for the benefit of the gaming industry and developers and voila! The "city of the future", is a vast wasteland of cookie-cutter housing tracts, endless strip malls, and a urban facade often described as "franchise architecture". This is not my vision of a desirable future. And increasingly, many observers in southern Nevada are beginning to realize that Las Vegas is rapidly becoming unlivable due to the city's rush into this future.

For those who have not moved to this place yet, let's hope that Las Vegas is not the future of American urban life, but will remain what is has always been: an aberration maintained solely by unrestrained growth and legalized gambling.

Life behind the Strip.......2004-03-01

Although the author covers the history of Las Vegas, this book is mainly about its current growing pains. The county's rapid growth has made it impossible for schools and other institutions to keep pace with population, and the social fabric of Las Vegas is frail because so many residents are recent arrivals. Regional planning is a joke because the local government is under the thumb of developers, and no one in government wants to do anything that would raise taxes or raise housing costs. The end result is a place where even a hotel chambermaid can enjoy a pleasant middle-class lifestyle. Rothman, a history professor at UNLV, spices his book with first-person stories, such as how a friendship with a family on the other side of I-15 gradually fell apart as the driving time to visit them became longer and longer.

This is a far superior book than Rothman's "The Grit Beneath the Glitter," which was a collection of essays. However, the flaw of both books is Rothman's over-the-top praise of organized labor. Granted, unions have provided many Vegas workers with a high standard of living, but it's really hard to believe (as Rothman claims) that employers are grateful to be unionized and grateful for the rule that the union - not the employer - chooses whom to hire.

I was surprised that another reviewer criticized Rothman for being an overly optimistic booster, because I thought the tone of the book was rather negative. When I've visited Las Vegas, I've always thought it would be an awful place to live, and Rothman's book confirms my impression. (Of course, Las Vegas residents probably think I'm nuts for living in Saskatchewan.) This would be an excellent book for any tourist who has a serious interest in what happens beyond the strip.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of the American Planning Association, published by American Planning Association on June 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1176 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: City of Las Vegas.(Book Review)
Author: Clara Irazabal
Publication: Journal of the American Planning Association (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2004
Publisher: American Planning Association
Volume: 70 Issue: 3 Page: 376(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the Twenty-First Century.(Book Review) : An article from: The Historian

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Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the Twenty-First Century.(Book Review) : An article from: The Historian
Raymond A. Mohl
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000B9DVTM
Release Date: 2005-09-03

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2004. The length of the article is 570 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the Twenty-First Century.(Book Review)
Author: Raymond A. Mohl
Publication: The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Page: 368(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The most arresting photographic images in our history-all the way up to the World Trade Center tragedy and the 2002 war in Afghanistan-come to life in this complete compilation of Pulitzer Prize-winning news and feature photos, along with the stories behind them.

More than 235 prize-winning photographs offer a year-by-year, dramatically visual chronicle of our times. Each beautifully reproduced image is accompanied by key information on how the shot was taken and the stunning story behind it, as told to author Hal Buell by the photographers. An accompanying timeline, placing each photo in its historical context, features yet another 265 photographs.

This unique and moving volume is completely up to date, including the 2000-2001 winners. Recent photos include images of students fleeing Columbine High School and the striking shot of federal agents taking Elian Gonzales from the arms of his relatives at gunpoint.

Customer Reviews:

Intense, Insightful, and True.......2006-01-11

Thankfully, in its range of events, nations, and issues covered, the pictures inside go way beyond the front page. Many pictures convey a reality that people like to forget. How about a white man 'stabbing' a person of color with a flag pole -the US flag proudly flying? How about an undernourished Sudanese toddler collapsed on the desert sand with a vulture waiting for its chance in the background? The pictures depict many unanswered questions in a very intense and beautiful way. A very powerful book.

Heart-rendering depictions by devoted photojournalists.......2002-11-16

This book contains the best Pulitzer awarded pictures from its inception since 1942. Most of the photos are in B&W and you begin to realise how much more powerful and appropriate it is to be shot in this medium, as it strips away the epidermi of the scene and reveals the emotional flesh of the moment. Every photo is accompanied with a commentary about how it was made and the situation that exposed the determination, patience and grit of the photographer. And for each year that is chronicled, four thumbnail pics of other events in that year is depicted, to give a sense of the timeline of the situation.

Book Description

This book offers readers a dramatic visual chronicle of our times.

These are unforgettable moments in history-five Marines raising the US flag in

Iwo Jima in 1945, Babe Ruth's final salute to Yankee stadium in 1949,

Lee Harvey Oswald wincing in pain as he is shot in 1964, President Ronald Reagan

being tackled into his limousine after the 1982 assassination attempt. Captured by

the lenses of top photographers, these 98 Pulitzer Prize winning photographs-combined with photo-timelines-paint a dramatic and memorable montage of each year, from World War II to the last days of the 20th Century.

Etched with emotion, fury and passion, each photograph transports the reader back in time to cry with the victims or cheer with the heroes. A detailed narrative along with the timeline that pictures and notes the most significant events of each year fills in the historical background, the photographer's thoughts, the events leading up to the captured moment as well as the aperture opening and shutter speed.

All photographs are rendered in duotone or full color, producing

clear and crisp images.

Customer Reviews:

To win a Pulitzer;it's got to be the best........2007-07-22

This wonderful book will be appreciated by anyone who has enjoyed the photography that has been such an important element of the news.This book covers each year between 1942 and 1999,so while it is good for the period covered;it's starting to get a little long in the tooth--6 years to be exact.
When one thinks of the humongous number of photographs taken on such an endless number of subjects,it is a major job to decide what is the best.One thing certain is, with so much to choose from,the winner should be a photograph that,no matter who looks at it,one should feel that it is undisputably great. Maybe it should also be such a photograph that is unrepeatable.
I have to admit, that is how I felt when I finished the book.
Since a main criteria seems to be that it is a newsworthy or timely photo; It would seem to me taat the photograph must catch such a moment.Many of the winners do just that.The Iwo Jima Flag on page 21,The Babe Bows Out on page 29,Oswald Shot,Live to the World on page 61,Saigon Execution on page 79,and others are great photographs of momentous importance;that had to be captured at the time. Many of the photographs in the second part of the book are not as momentous.A picture to win a Pulitzer should be immediately recognized by all, and one should have instant recall of it. As the years went on ,it seems the judges have altered their criteria and have chosen photographs that one doesn't recall at the time;and more importantly are not one-of a-kind momentous photographs.In other words they have chosen human interest,third world poverty and such things that can be found all over the world,and it matters little whether the photograph was taken at one time or another ,or in one place or another. This has increased in later years and the winners for the 90's are anything but exceptional. In 1979, the award went to photographs of a storm in Boston.There was nothing so unusual about such a storm or the photographs.There must have been thousands of similar ones taken.Then, when one looks at what won in 1986,scenes that exist by the thousands in any city;the award overlooks one of the greatest photographs,even though so disasterous,in the century. The January 1986 ,explosion of the space shuttle Challenger,73 seconds after takeoff,killing all astronauts on board.The pictures chosen for 1987 and 1986 pale by comparison.
However,the book does an excellent job of covering the Pulitzer awards for photographs;and in ith end whether I concur with their choices is a mute point.

jogging down the memory lane.......2001-11-09

This book captured all those essential moments in time, & the title said it all, really. It started from year 1942 & ended in 1999. Just like the movie, Pleasantville, it started with B&W pictures but as the technology gets better & more viable, colour pictures took over but still, never underestimated the raw drama & power of B&W pictures, though. The editing of this splendid coffee table book is quite clever by segregating it into various eras describing the technology & techniques available during that time (involving taking, printing, transmitting the pictures) & then, drawing a parellel with what's going on in this world right there, right then. I didn't appreciate the intensity of the pictures when I was younger but as I'm older now & sitting through reading thru this book, it brought back many memories, some good, some bad. And this book is also clever enough to provide time graph with more pertinent pictures to run us through the time passed. It's quite emotionally draining & disturbing at times to read that some photographers risked it all including their lives just to share the moments with the rest of the world, & how much the pictures affected some photographers here that they took away their own lives. All & all, this is a book that celebrates humanity, abhors at evil that humans would do to one another, reminds us all of the vulnerability against Mother Nature, the appreciation of simple things in life, & so forth. A very engaging book & worth reading. Highly recommended.

At last...an updated edition!.......2001-05-08

Considering the last edition of Moments: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs came out nearly 20 years ago, it's great that somebody saw fit to update this book to include the stupendous photos that have won the Pulitzer in the last 20 years, like Kevin Carter's photo of the starving Sudanese girl and Charles Porter's photograph from Oklahoma City. And the narratives about each photo, coupled with the technical details in the back, make this book still a cut above a mere exhibition of the winners.

But apparently they must have had some trouble tracking down copies of the older Pulitzer winners for this edition, because the reproduction on some of them is, well, kind of crappy. For a few of them, it looks like they literally took flatbed scans from the pages of the old book and used them in this one; in some of them, like the 1955 winner, you can actually see the pixel lines!

It's still a fantastic book on the whole...I guess I'm just a little disappointed that a book cataloging some of the most important news photographs of the 20th century has such mediocre reproduction in places.

A great book, and there are others, too.......2000-08-13

Hal's done a great job of behind-the-scenes reporting for this book. The photos are good, too. But if you want a look at a museum-quality catalogue of these photos, try going to Newseum.org and looking at the online store for their book, The Pulitzer Prize photos...

Life at the extremes.......2000-07-29

The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most well known, respected, and coveted awards. It is no doubt that the photos chosen to receive the Pulitzer recognize human nature at its most extreme- compassion and brutality. This book is a collection of the most famed and heartwrenching photographs over a spanning several decades. Included in the collection are pictures from the Vietnam War, Oklahoma City bombing, famine, rites of passage, parents standing next to the ocean which swept their son to sea, election of U.S. President Clinton, and other events of various magnitude. The pictures (both black/white and color) are printed on large heavy paper, which allows the true nature of the picture to project their true nature.

One of the best aspects of this book is the short narratives that accompany each picture. The narratives answer many questions about the picture, such as what the photographer was thinking, his intention with the photo, how he came across the situation, his feelings, and so forth. I found the narratives to be one of the most gratifying aspects of this book.

Book Description

The photographs of Moneta Sleet Jr. are internationally acclaimed collector’s items encapsulating special moments in the history of African-Americans around the world in the latter half of the 20th Century. Now, for the first time, these works that have been coveted by many are presented in one remarkable book. Many of these rare photographs have never been seen before!

Customer Reviews:

Mr. Sleet's work is enlightening. . .we reflect and remember.......1999-01-02

Mr. Sleet was a very special person whose very life defined the term humanitarian. He always had time to listen, and no matter how busy, he was there to help and encourage. He wanted people to know what it meant to be black in America. Many thousands of untitled black folks walked undaunted, hand-and-hand with pain & triumph in the civil rights movement. Mr. Sleet was on the front lines to capture those special and poignant moments. He was "on the right side" to help us reach for higher ideals....the ideals of justice, perserverance, peace, humaneness, forgiveness and understanding. I am privleged to have known Mr. Sleet and to have been friends with his son, Gregory when we were at Hampton University. Indeed, Gregory who is a federal judge and who we now proudly call Judge Sleet continues to represent his father's ideals. Moneta Sleet's work reminds us every day to listen, to care and to share. I hope that everyone will buy this book and more importantly share its work and meaning with all children. Lynnette C. Velasco, Children's book Author Zinzi: A Child's Journey to Self-fulfillment, Giving, and Caring.

Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs

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Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs

Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393322823

Book Description

The defining moments of the tumultuous second half of the twentieth century captured in riveting photographs.

Collected here are the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs (updated to include winners through 2003)—pictures that influenced our thinking in times of crisis and sometimes stirred us to action. Among them are Joe Rosenthal's World War II photograph of the raising of the flag over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, commemorating the more than 6,000 marines who died in the battle for that small Pacific island, and Robert Jackson's photograph of Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald, recalling the anguish of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The pictures document that we have lived in a violent age, showing the brutalities of war, racism, and despotism. But the Pulitzer photojournalists also recorded tender and compassionate moments, as in Brian Lanker's pictures of joyous parents at the birth of their child, or Scott Shaw's photographs of the rescue of a little girl trapped in a well. In coming centuries, these indelible images will inevitably be used to illustrate the triumphs and tragedies of our era. 85 duotone and 37 color photographs.

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Moments - The Pulitzer Prize Photographs - Updated Edition: 1942-1982
Crown
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0517547368
Release Date: 1985-05-29

Customer Reviews:

great.......2005-08-08

This books contains the Pulitzer winning photographs from 1942-1977. These are truly some of our greatest pieces of photojournalism, and it is great to see them all in one place (with a great page-length essay on each). This is a book that should definitely be updated periodically, and it is. So go for one of the later books that have more of the photos. And enjoy, see some of the best photojournalism ever done.

Moments - The Pulitzer Prize Photographs - Updated Edition: 1942-1982

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Moments - The Pulitzer Prize Photographs - Updated Edition: 1942-1982
Sheryle and John Leekley
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U7GBLU

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Moments, The Pulitzer Prize Photographs

Manufacturer: Crown Publisher, INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HVV5YW

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MOMENTS: THE PULITZER PRIZE PHOTOGRAPHS; UPDATED EDITION: 1942-1982.

Manufacturer: Crown Publishers,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HY7L1U

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Moments: the Pulitzer Prize Photographs-Updated Edition

Manufacturer: Crown, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I99NQA

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Moments: the Pulitzer Prize Photographs-Updated Edition
Sheryle And John Leckley
Manufacturer: Crown, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RZJMT8

Customer Reviews:

middle ground.......1999-07-07

parkin's macro text, like his micro text, provides a rudimentary, yet comprehensive, survey of macro econ. it is good for students who have a slight grasp of economics and would like to know more about it. parkin does a good job of explaining and introducing the fundamental concepts. more advanced econ students or individuals with a base of economic knowledge, spend your time and money somewhere else

Microeconomics with Student Resource Disk and Economics in Action 5.1 (Package) (5th Edition)

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Microeconomics with Student Resource Disk and Economics in Action 5.1 (Package) (5th Edition)
Michael Parkin
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Microeconomics With Economic Action 5.1
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Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Microeconomics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0201390299

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