Las
Vegas: An Unconventional History
Well-heeled mobsters, glamorous showgirls, fantastical
mega-casinos, dazzling neon displays- it's the world's most
famous monument to reckless abandon and unbridled excess.
From a dusty railroad town in the middle of nowhere, Las Vegas
has
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Courtesy of Weekend Edition 11/12/05
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grown into one of the world's premier tourist
destinations. Once shunned as Sin City and considered beyond
the pale of respectable society, it is now the epicenter of
mainstream leisure, attracting more visitors than the holy
city of Mecca. Las Vegas: An Unconventional History steps
into the world of bright lights and back-room deals to illuminate
what makes it perhaps the most American city in the country.
The film has been named the official documentary of the city's
year-long 2005 centennial celebration and a companion book of
the same title has been published by Bulfinch Press.
Although glitz and glamour define the Las Vegas that more
than 37 million tourists flock to each year, the city sprawls
well beyond the Strip and draws new residents at a head-spinning
pace. Las Vegas: An Unconventional History explores how this
once remote and exotic desert outpost transformed itself into
the fastest-growing city in the United States - a place where
tens of thousands of jobs are created each year, sixty new
streets are named each month, and an average of more than
a thousand prospective residents arrive each week. Among its
many monikers, Las Vegas can add City of Opportunity for its
unmatched job prospects and booming real estate market.
While there is life beyond the Strip, Las Vegas will always
be best known as a place of escape. From its incarnation as
the favorite nightspot for the men who built the Hoover Dam,
to its most recent re-invention as a post-modern desert fantasyland,
the city has made its living by anticipating the desires of
its visitors and then catering to them.
Peopled with unlikely heroes and villains, Las Vegas: An Unconventional
History looks at the figures who shaped the Las Vegas we know
today, from icons like Bugsy Siegel and The Rat Pack to less
well-known characters drawn to this desert  fantasyland
in search of the American dream. The film also explores the
forces that have always kept the city a few paces ahead of
mainstream America: Las Vegas was the first city to legalize
gambling; one of the first cities to dissolve the color line;
the first and only city to make atomic testing a tourist attraction;
and perhaps the only city whose dazzling main street can be
seen from outer space.
The documentary features interviews with resort entrepreneurs
Steve and Elaine Wynn, media mogul Brian Greenspun, local
columnist John L. Smith, and writers Marc Cooper and Nick
Pileggi. It also includes profiles of ten modern-day Las Vegans,
who together provide a complex look at life in the nation's
fastest-growing city.
Las Vegas: An Unconventional History documents the often surprising,
endlessly entertaining history of America's most outrageous
playground.
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