Two Belgian friends travel to Las Vegas for a fornight. But their minds never leave their home-town (Ghent), their families and their friends. Their troubles, repressed up to that date, surfaces...

The author (and the translator) have a sound command of the language and a vast vocabulary.

I lived only three houses "up" the street from Susan Berman and her family. I never could figure out why my folks were so hesitant about my going to her house to play (she couldn't ever come to our place), but as I became aware of things, it was obviously because of her "uncles" (read: bodyguards).

This book is Susan's personal catharsis. She (and Gladys, her mother) were so COMPLETELY insulated from Davey Berman's "business life" that when they finally did become aware of it, it led to Gladys' death in a mental institution and quite a bit of psychotherapy for Susan.

Susan was three years younger than I, so her recollections pretty much match mine as far as life in Vegas in the 1950s goes. Of course, her father allowed her to have an inside look at the Flamingo - a look which I wasn't allowed.

I was deeply shocked to learn of "Susie"'s death. As to Davey, this is what I wrote to Susan just after "Easy Street" was published in the 1970s:

Regardless of who your father might have been in his "at-work" persona, when he was home with you and your mother, he was the warmest, nicest, and yes, the sweetest guy in the neighborhood. I never heard him say a cross word to anyone, and hardly ever saw him without a smile. For this, at least, I have good memories of him."

This book was very helpful in finding a hotel for 4 nights in Las Vegas. I am a graduating senior from college this May and my boyfriend and I were looking for a vacation spot that I could afford my half of the trip using my graduation money. The Family Fun Guide to Las Vegas, which I happened to see pop up as a banner ad while doing internet research on Los Vegas, was very helpful in finding a hotel for $40 a night in such short notice!

Thank you,

This book opened my eyes to what life on the western frontier was really like. Forget current media fictionalizations, the frontier was not a shooting gallery. No handsome stranger rides into to town to save the cowering inhabitants from evil. The crooks and crooked politics are all there, just like they are today. The sheriff was not always the stalwart defender of the law, in fact he sometimes had business interests to protect.

McGrath offers a carefully documented narrative of the day to day goings on during the gold rush. The data is from public records and the fill-in is from newspaper archives. A detailed yet readable account of frontier life. Far better than any cowboy novel, this is the real west.

Steve Hurst

I purchased this book before a summer trip to Mammoth last summer and have been very happy. I have always enjoyed FalconGuide books, and this is no exception. There are plenty of hikes to chose , my only complaint is that there could be better maps and more photos included.

Having lived in Railroad Valley in the 1980's, and having met and known most of the living people and places mentioned in this book, I find a number of interesting people, places, histories, and stories about this magical place missing. While in the process of writing my own book about prospecting and exploring in Railroad Valley and the surrounding mountain ranges, I turn to this book often as a research tool for history, dates, and such, and while I find it very helpful in this regard, and feel close to it because of the personal connection, it leaves me a little disappointed because of missing info. Hopefully I will be able to fill in some blanks in my book.

This was a comprehensive look into Las Vegas for the average traveler. This book was very good at pointing out various hotspots and steering the reader clear of tourist traps. The one fault of this publication was that it contains no pictures of the area and only text and a few maps. Pictures would have enhanced the purpose of the travel guide by giving the reader visual cues to the Las Vegas when actually in the city.

Anne Martin's story is of interest to anyone who enjoys reading of history or politics, particularly of Nevada's history, or of women's struggle to gain suffrage rights. Anne Martin grew up in Nevada in the late 1800's and came of age in the early 1900's. She attended Stanford University, and then worked in England, Washington D.C., and throughout Nevada to attain voting rights for women. (Nevada women gained the right to vote in 1914.) After attaining that goal, Ms. Martin ran for Senate, traveling through the rough countryside to various mining camps and small railroad towns -- a daring feat for a women at that time. After abandoning her own political career, she became active in the peace and equal rights movements on a global scale, decades ahead of the 1960's peace movement. This book is somewhat cumbersome to read, since every fact and reference is painstakingly documented in detail, but the effort is worthwhile.

I don't generally like Christian fiction much. Too often authors use their "Christian" audience to justify banality or just plain inferior work. A lot of Christian books can't compete on sheer entertainment value. Happily, Bodie & Brock Thoenes work is some of the best fiction I've ever read. It's unnecessary to qualify that by stating it's some of the best "Christian fiction". It's good fiction plain and simple.

This is a well written look at 8 artists in Nevada. Most interesting is how these artists and their work reflects and interacts with the desert landscape in a variety of ways.The artists respond in a variety of ways using abstraction, collage, installation and mixed media. The book is well illustrated and shows examples of the artists' work. Fox has an obvious affection for the artists in this book and strikes a tone that is balanced and enthusiastic. It is an interesting look at 8 specific artists but also delves into the creative process, culture in the Western US and how the landscape impacts all of that. Definitely worth the time!