Everyday Las Vegas : local life in a tourist town / Rex J. Rowley.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Every year, more than thirty-five million people from all over the world visit Las Vegas; only two million call the city home. Everyday Las Vegas takes a close look at the lives of those who live in a place the rest of the world considers exotic, even decadent. Using broad research, including interviews with more than one hundred Las Vegans, Rex Rowley--who grew up in Las Vegas--examines everyday life in a place that markets itself as an escape from mundane reality.

Rowley considers such topics as why people move to Las Vegas, the nature of their work and personal lives, the impact of growth and rapid change, and interaction with the overwhelmingly touristic side of the city. He also considers the benefits and perils of living in a nonstop twenty-four-hour city rich in entertainment options and easy access to gambling, drugs, and other addictions. His examination includes the previously unstudied role of neighborhood casinos patronized by locals rather than tourists and the impact that a very mobile population has on schools, churches, and community life.

Rowley considers the very different ways people perceive a place as insiders or outsiders, a dichotomy that arises when tourism is a mainstay of the local economy. His work offers insights into what Las Vegas can teach us about other cities and American culture in general. It also contributes to our understanding of how people relate to places and how the personality of a place influences the lives of people who live there.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

While the world sees the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas's Strip, geography professor Rowley (Univ. of Wisconsin-Platteville) discusses the staid neighborhoods where Vegans live, work, and have their being. There are churches, schools, parks, playgrounds, and even casinos catering to the locals. Still a very young metropolis--barely a century old--Vegas thrives despite its location. In the 1930s, Hoover Dam brought thousands to the desert; after WW II, gambling made the city world famous. Unprecedented growth took place faster than planning, creating traffic congestion, pollution, and fears of water shortage. When the nation slipped into the great recession, Vegans' faith in their future took a hit as the city faced economic crises similar to but more severe than the country as a whole. The Strip's underwriting of the economy is a blessing and a curse; Nevada has the highest school dropout rate in the US and the least educated work force. Despite all the problems, Rowley remains hopeful that Vegas will recover and continue to thrive for both tourists and locals. This highly readable analysis of the private side of a public city deserves a place in all academic libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. D. R. Jamieson Ashland University