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Popular Culture Review
civic leaders, hotel developers, and publicists crafted and distributed
appealing images of the city.” He suceeeds in deseribing how Las Vegas
did not simply emerge organically and naturally from the surrounding
desert, but instead grew from one of the biggest advertising and publie
marketing campaigns ever devised.
The first of a projected two-work study, Gragg tells the story of
Las Vegas not only by documenting the accounts of people who have
lived, worked, played, and died there, but also through the countless
descriptions of the town found in popular culture. Thus the work makes
use of historical, sociological, and literary approaches. Throughout,
Gragg presents a positive view of Las Vegas. Gragg’s profession as a
historian shines through the works as he draws on every coneeivable
film, television show, and novel to outline the history of the city from
“the last frontier town,” up to the mega luxurious hotels and resorts of
today. While Gragg’s approach may seem slightly schizophrenic at
times. Bright Light City never fails to illuminate, titillate, and educate the
reader.
There is a lot to love in this work. Of speeial note are chapters
three and four. Chapter three, “Bugsy Siegel and the Founding of Las
Vegas,” gives a fascinating account of the life and death of Bugsy Siegel,
as well as debunking the long-standing myth that Siegel himself was
responsible for the creation of modem Las Vegas. Chapter four,
“Organized Crime in Vegas,” recounts the heyday of mob control in the
city up until it loses its hold during the early nineties.
Bright Light City succeeds in its main goal of deseribing Las
Vegas in popular culture. Each page includes a plethora of quotes from a
variety of sources, including movies, television shows, novels,
newspaper accounts, and travel guides. For those who don’t get their fill
of Las Vegas from reading the book, Gragg includes a thorough
bibliographical essay and also provides a list of further reading. This
alone is well worth the addition of the book to any reference library.
John May, University of Nevada, Las Vegas