It was a spring day on the Las Vegas strip in 1971 when Ruby Duncan, a former cotton picker turned hotel maid, the mother of seven, led a processio...
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reviews
Jul 19, 2007
Pepper
rated it: 
this book is hands down one of the most engaging non fiction books ever.
really.
it tells the tale of poor black women who migrated to vegas from their lives as sharecroppers in the deep south and end up with lots of kids and on welfare.
then they get mad.
mad at society for not even considering them for any job other than maid, mad at the welfare system that keeps them down - demonizing them, taking away their constitutional rights and ensuring that they remain reliant on t More...
really.
it tells the tale of poor black women who migrated to vegas from their lives as sharecroppers in the deep south and end up with lots of kids and on welfare.
then they get mad.
mad at society for not even considering them for any job other than maid, mad at the welfare system that keeps them down - demonizing them, taking away their constitutional rights and ensuring that they remain reliant on t More...
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Dec 14, 2010
Meiver
rated it:
Storming Caesar’s Palace accomplishes many things. When the book goes into specific moments of the activist women’s lives, it reads as a non-fiction novel, and this style makes the reading easy, succeeding in roping the reader into the drama of the lives of the women organizers who are the protagonists of these stories. When it narrates public moments of activism, changes in legislation, and community institutions’ reform processes and transitions, and their impact, it reads as both a piece More...
May 03, 2011
Ocean
rated it:
i've only read 2 chapters but i have to return it to the library before i go out of town tomorrow. this is a note to myself. this book promises to be amazing--the story of a group of disenfranchised welfare mothers who stormed one of the biggest casinos in vegas in 1971 (?) and shut it down, in response to the state issuing drastic welfare cuts. the story of their grassroots organizing & years of work & the real change that it created. a story i'd never heard of until i chanced upon it at the l
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Jan 10, 2011
Erin
rated it: 
I decided it was about time to finish Storming Caesars Palace in an effort to have a clean slate for 2011 and began Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony at about the same time. The opening lines of Silko's book bewildered me, and I set it down to read it when in a more meditative mindset:
Their evil is mighty / but it can't stand up to our stories. / So they try to destroy the stories / let the stories be confused or forgotten. / They would like that / They would be happy / Because we would More...
Their evil is mighty / but it can't stand up to our stories. / So they try to destroy the stories / let the stories be confused or forgotten. / They would like that / They would be happy / Because we would More...
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Aug 11, 2010
Natalie
rated it:
Wow. This book was good. Good good. Like, I'm about to break into effusive, newspaper review language good. Easy 5 stars.
Orleck masterfully blends together history, social analysis, and personal story-telling. The story told in this book is empowering and enraging and beautiful and tragic. And Orleck does a GOOD job of telling it. What I found particularly impressive was her lack of direct editorializing. With the exception of a few paragraphs in the concluding chapter, she never sp More...
Orleck masterfully blends together history, social analysis, and personal story-telling. The story told in this book is empowering and enraging and beautiful and tragic. And Orleck does a GOOD job of telling it. What I found particularly impressive was her lack of direct editorializing. With the exception of a few paragraphs in the concluding chapter, she never sp More...
Nov 16, 2010
V.
rated it:
This is a prime example of the type of historical work I want to do. Orleck brings us the inspiring, gut-wrenching stories of the women involved in Operation Life, a welfare-rights organization in Las Vegas. She shows us that historians have a definite place in chronicling and advocating for activists and policy-makers.
Jul 21, 2007
Karlyn
rated it:
Storming Caesar's Palace grippingly recounts the decades of struggle by welfare mother's in Las Vegas for basic rights and respect. Orleck places Operation Life's battles as a continuation of the pre-1965 beloved community movement as opposed to binding into the late sixties black power movement. The book is largely told through the core group of welfare mothers who fought for the well-being of the mothers and children on Las Vegas' West Side.
Dec 26, 2011
Micah
rated it:
Bought this at Bookworks in Wrigleyville last night (Chicago's most slept-on book store! This place is amaaaazing!). I am dying to read it.
Nov 03, 2010
I'm reading this for my book group's meeting in February. I wondered why I didn't remember this happening in Las Vegas, but then I realized I was living in Anchorage at the time. My mom, who worked at the Stardust Hotel, never mentioned it to me when we talked.
11-3-10 I plan to finish this book someday, but just not right now.
11-3-10 I plan to finish this book someday, but just not right now.
Jan 23, 2008
J
rated it:
A great book if you are interested in grassroots organizing, the U.S. history of social welfare, and/or a piece of Nevada's history. I have met Ruby Duncan and she is truly a down-to-earth person who set out to make a difference in her community. Her story is fantastic.
Feb 22, 2010
Tried to read this too soon after the end of grad school, just couldn't make myself read it. Will try again.
Apr 20, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
A great book, explaining the intricacies of these women's oppression and how they beat the system. An important history to know.
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