Las Vegas : a centennial history / Eugene P. Moehring and Michael S. Green.

ISBN:

9780874176476

Title:

Author:

Moehring, Eugene P.

Personal Author:

Moehring, Eugene P.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 284 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Series:

Wilbur S. Shepperson series in Nevada history

Contents:

Before the city -- Birth of a railroad town, 1902-1910 -- A new city takes shape, 1911-1920 -- Setting the tone, 1920s -- The dam era : railroad town into tourist town -- World war and its aftermath : gambling becomes king -- City and strip : laying a metropolitan foundation -- Growth and community conflict, 1960s -- Gaming and world recognition -- Suburbanization and diversity, 1970-2005.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Geographic Term:

Las Vegas (Nev.) -- History.

Las Vegas (Nev.) -- Economic conditions.

Las Vegas Region (Nev.) -- History.

Added Author:

Green, Michael S.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2005

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
979.3135 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

The meteoric rise of Las Vegas from a remote Mormon outpost to an international entertainment center was never a sure thing. In its first decades, the town languished, but when Nevada legalized casino gambling in 1931, Las Vegas met its destiny. This act--combined with the growing popularity of the automobile, cheap land and electricity, and changing national attitudes toward gambling--led to the fantastic casinos and opulent resorts that became the trademark industry of the city and created the ambiance that has made Las Vegas an icon of pleasure. This volume celebrates the city's unparalleled growth, examining both the development of its gaming industry and the creation of an urban complex that over two million people proudly call home. Here are the colorful characters who shaped the city as well as the political, business, and civic decisions that influenced its growth. The story extends chronologically from the first Paiute people to the construction of the latest megaresorts, and geographically far beyond the original township to include the several municipalities that make up today's vast metropolitan Las Vegas area.

Author Notes

Eugene Moehring is a professor of history and chair of the history department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his Ph.D. in 1976 from the City University of New York and his B.A. (1968) and M.A. (1970) in history from Queens College. A specialist in urban history, he also taught courses in business history, the U.S. since 1920, Nevada history, and the history of science. Michael S. Green is the author of several books on the Civil War era and Nevada history, and he serves as editor in chief of the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly . He is professor of history at the Community College of Southern Nevada, where he specializes in nineteenth-century politics and the American West.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Frederick Jackson Turner's ideas are far removed from the historical realities offered by these two regional (or subregional) studies of Las Vegas, Nevada. Postmodernist "new western" emphases seep from the pages of both works, which celebrate ethnic diversity as they depart from the traditional interpretations that often emphasized "little but open space and desert" before the white man appeared. These books would make scholars such as Patricia Limerick or Donald Worster proud. Peoples, edited by Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) professors Simich (political science; coauthor, General Index to Croatian Pioneers in California, 1849-1999, 1999) and Wright (history; Flight from Chile: Voices of Exile, CH, Jan'99, 36-2907), is an historical anthology of ethnicity--the diversity of Las Vegas (then and now) that, in summary, is described in the book's introduction, "Immigration, Ethnicity, and the Rise of Las Vegas." Thereafter, scholars representing several academic disciplines write detailed accounts of traditional ethnic groups (Native Americans, African Americans, and "The Mexicans"), but also add Greeks, Italians, Jews, Croats, Filipinos, "Peoples from the Indian Subcontinent," and Chileans to the mix. Las Vegas is an equally fine study by historians Moehring (UNLV; Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas, 1930-1900, CH, Jun'90, 27-5945; exp. ed., 1930-2000, 2000) and Green (Southern Nevada Community College; Nevada: A Journey of Discovery, 2005, and editor in chief, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly) that is a general history of the city and its immediate surroundings. Written more for the public, Las Vegas offers a complete, sometimes amazing account of a city that is more than just a place immortalized by Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas (1964), always "turning day into night and night into day." These two monographs complement each other and should be read as companions. ^BSumming Up: Recommended, both titles. All public and academic levels and collections. P. D. Travis Texas Woman's University

Excerpts

Las Vegas is many things to many people. During the past half century, Las Vegas has become an icon of gambling and leisure. It attracts more than 35 million visitors annually, more than Orlando, more even than Mecca in Saudi Arabia. To most of these visitors, it is 'Sin City,' the 'City Without Clocks' where 'What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.' But to the people who live here, the better word to describe Las Vegas is 'home.' To these people--over 1.7 million of them according to the 2000 census, and more arriving every day--the metropolitan Las Vegas area is where they work, raise families, go to school, play ball or go jogging, and dream the same dreams and live the same lives as their fellow Americans all over the country. That the city's major industry involves a sometimes forbidden activity (gambling), and an attitude unappreciated by puritans of all stripes--the pursuit of pleasure in all forms--does not contradict the fact that the majority of Las Vegans earn their living in ordinary workplaces like offices, shops, and construction sites, and in the same vast range of occupations and professions that other Americans pursue. Excerpted from Las Vegas: A Centennial History by Eugene P. Moehring, Michael S. Green All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.