Literary Las Vegas: The Best Writing About America's Most Fabulous City

by Mike Tronnes (Editor), Nick Tosches (Introduction)

Literary Las Vegas brings together the best writings from this neon outpost in the desert. Ranging from the hilarious to the tragic, these pieces provide what Nick Tosches calls a "Baedecker to the bizarre, a Virgil in shades, not only to the holy city but to the off-the-rack soul that we, one nation under Frankie's toup, so strangely and fatally share." Incisive, entertaining, and highly readable, Literary Las Vegas creates a unique anecdotal history about this one-of-a-kind place.

Genres: Anthologies, American, Journalism, Nonfiction, Literature, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

Reviews

[Lisa Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of writing about Sin City, Las Vegas. Nick Tosches introduces this anthology of mostly non-fiction. Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing..." is excerpted. Noel Coward's Vegas gig of is covered and, in my favorite story, Susan Berman (the victim in one of Robert Durst's alleged murders) recounts her childgood growing up the daughter of a numbers man for the Mob. Marked mostly by stories of the '50s and '60s, this is a great little history lesson for anyone curious about the glory days of Vegas.

[Kimberly Eyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best:

Tom Wolfe
A. Alvarez
Hunter S. Thompson
Edward Allen

Must follow this up with a trip to Las Vegas. (I will settle for visiting South End's casino. England's glitter glutch?)

[Brendan]

Rating: 3 1/2

It's a mixed bag. A lot of excerpts. But it should be easy to find something you like, whether that be entertaining or informative.

Favorites:
"Jim Crow for Black Performers" - Faith Fancher and William Drummond
excerpt from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson (though I recommend the whole thing)
"Casino Queen" - J. Randall Prior
"Lost Vegas" - Alan Richman
"Melvin and Howard" - Jim Sloan (Howard, as in Howard Hughes)
"Searching for Sin City and Finding Disney in the Desert" - Marc Cooper

Least Favorites:
"Las Vegas: The Odds on Anything" - Michael Ventura
"Who'll Stop the Wayne?" - Richard Meltzer

What I like most about gambling is that it does not make sense.
- Edward Allen, "Penny Ante"

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the city's earliest days of desert and nuclear tests and Bugsy Siegel and Myer Lansky to over-the-top architecture and gambling, Literary Las Vegas covers almost all fronts with a superb collection of non-fiction shorts. Hunter S. Thompson's is incoherent and Susan Berman's Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter is oddly tender. I think there's more disillusioned, down and outs than is in the collection, and would have liked more stories on race than just the one Fancher and Drummond's Jim Crow for Black Performers. But the Mel and Howard, Noel Coward, Elvis and many other stories are just wonderful.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

In preparation for my first visit to Sin City, I borrowed this using interlibrary loan, the copy I read coming from Beverly Hills Public Library! Being a compilation of writings over time, the portraits of Las Vegas painted pictures from various angles and the reader “hears” stories in many voices. Skimming through some but absorbing others, I was especially interested in the memoir of a gangster’s daughter and the story of how viewing of the atom bomb testing nearby became elevated to the level of spectator sport and celebrated as only Las Vegas could or would.

[ea · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most anthologies this book is filled with a few hits, several misses and a bevy of mediocrity to meet the necessary word count. It does scratch a particular itch by focusing solely on Sin City but likely is scraping the bottom of the CNF barrel to do so. If God gave me a do-over I would read instead The Biggest Game in Town by A. Alvarez because that excerpt BLEW MY MIND. Who knew poker could be so fascinating!?!?!

And yes, I only feel okay being honest in this review because most of these writers have croaked!

[Sean Wicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Articles and segments from writings about Las Vegas, many of them interesting. A pair in particular that cover the concept of gambling and the mind of a gambler are especially intriguing. Also notable, a chapter about Elvis as he is about to embark on his iconic run at the International Hotel (later the Hilton, and now the Westgate). Another that discusses the Jim Crowe segregationist laws of Las Vegas that earned it the reputation as the "Mississippi of the West" is educational.

[Ewout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything on black

[Billye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Literary Las Vegas offers an eclectic mix of quality writing about Las Vegas by some of the most gifted modern writers. The offerings are less consistent in their tone and quality than some of the other collections I have read. However, the pieces that stand out here are so good that they smooth over any poor selections in the book. I especially liked Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter, The Biggest Game in Town, How I Got Cultured: A Nevada Memoir,and The Odds on Anything.

[Travis Lindeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection which perfectly captures all the things I feel about Las Vegas. Its triteness, the illusions, the cruelty of the law of averages, the weakness of human psychology in the face of pecuniary gains and losses, warrantless and beyond our control.

My favorites were:
Edward Allen- "Penny Ante"
Michael Venture- "Las Vegas: The Odds on Anything"

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terribly amused by the Noel Coward diary entries..."This is a fabulous, extraordinary madhouse." Amen, brother.

[Tera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! A collection of essays and short stories about Las Vegas by America's best writers along with personal stories by those who were born and raised in Sin City.

[Justus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great anthology of stories about Las Vegas, definitely worth picking up for cheap and if you're looking for a bit of variety about an interesting city.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. It covers LV from all angles- Bugsy Siegel, the Rat Pack, Elvis, professional grifters et al.