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4.5
Everyone has something to say about Las Vegas. Some of the most thoughtful and revealing books are by historian Hal Rothman. David Schwartz and David Littlejohn wrote about life beyond the Strip. Mark Gottdiener and Eugene Moehring dug deeper into the culture of Las Vegas. And William Fox and Bruce Begout took a gloomier, philosophical look at the city.Most of the books about Las Vegas are by men. Las Vegas is undeniably masculine. So what happens when four scholars who are women go to the Strip, making several trips each, alone or with partners or children, or with each other? The result is predictably academic, but there are also aspects of Las Vegas that come up in Strip Cultures that I haven't read about anywhere else. In addition to observations about gambling, showgirls, and "slappers" (the people on the sidewalks who hand out photo cards advertising escort services), there are also essays about the art in Las Vegas (there's more than you'd expect), about the sounds and smells, about souvenirs, about buffets.If there's a unifying theme here, I missed it, but the individual essays are well worth your time. One thread that pops up in several essays is that Las Vegas is overwhelmingly fake, but doesn't try to hide the fakeness, in fact it seems to flaunt it and even invites you behind the scenes. It's all part of the show.In addition to the excellent essays (a few of my favorites were Jane Kuenz's chapter on casino security and Stacy Jameson's on the smells and sounds of the Strip), there are plenty of arresting photographs throughout, taken by Karen Klugman.(Thanks to NetGalley and Duke University Press for a digital review copy.)
