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| The Money and the Power: The Making of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America | 
 enlarge | Authors: Sally Denton, Roger Morris
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $2.50
You Save: $13.45 (84%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (39 reviews)
Sales Rank: 153537
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0375701265
Dewey Decimal Number: 979.3135
EAN: 9780375701269
ASIN: 0375701265
Publication Date: March 12, 2002
Release Date: March 12, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Las Vegas?the name evokes images of divorce and dice, prostitutes and payoffs, gangsters and glitz. But beneath it all is a sordid history that is much more insidious and far-reaching than ever imagined. Now, at the dawn of the new century, this neon maelstrom of ruthlessness and greed stands to not as an aberrant ?sin city,? but as a natural outgrowth of the corruption and worship of money that have come to permeate American life.
The Money and the Power is the most comprehensive look yet at Las Vegas and its breadth of influence. Based on five years of intensive research and interviewing, Sally Denton and Roger Morris reveal the city?s historic network of links to Wall Street, international drug traffickers, and the CIA. In doing so, they expose the disturbing connections amongst politicians, businessmen, and the criminals that harness these illegal activities. Through this lucid and gripping indictment of Las Vegas, Morris and Denton uncover a national ethic of exploitation, violence, and greed, and provide a provocative reinterpretation of twentieth-century American history.
Amazon.com Review
"There is no place like it. It is literally a beacon of Civilization.... Only Mecca inspires as many pilgrims." So write Sally Denton and Roger Morris about Las Vegas, Nevada, which emerged in the last years of the 20th century as America's fastest-growing city, and in the process, a family-entertainment and cultural center. But underlying that Las Vegas--and underlying the authors' fine narrative--is an older, decidedly less friendly city, one shaped by an "alliance of gamblers, gangsters, and government" to cater to every kind of human weakness. This Las Vegas, populated by notorious criminals, dangerous eccentrics, and ambitious empire-builders, exercised an extraordinary influence on the nation's politics and economy. Few presidents elected in the last century did not come calling on the desert city to secure funds and favors, even as Las Vegas's thriving economy came under the control of a handful of powerful men. Full of strange episodes and characters, the history of Las Vegas is too little known. Denton and Morris's revisionist, past-as-prologue look at how Las Vegas came to be is a startling, original work that adds much to our understanding of recent American history. --Gregory McNamee
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 Very Revealing, Excellent Book!!! April 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was fascinating and I couldn't put it down until I finished the last page.
The reviewer who mentioned the author's lack of sourcing is correct and I wish they'd provided more.
I did, however, check out most of the information in this book (I did exhaustive, in-depth research) and found their information to be accurate.
 So-so popular history November 16, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I don't doubt that much of the reporting in this book is accurate. Even so, though the writing in TMATP is decent -- evocative and well-paced -- its reporting leaves much to be desired. TMATP has more than the whiff of conspiracy theory about it, and its authors are, at times, more breathless than dispassionate in their commentary. What is lacking most, in this book, is depth. Denton and Morris draw on numerous sources, to be sure, yet they bring little insight to their task. For a general, and colorful, introduction to Las Vegas and its problematic history, TMATP seems decent enough. For a sophisticated account, one must look eslewhere.
 Excellent read November 16, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A lot has changed in Las Vegas since this book was first published, but that doesn't change the fact that is remains a stunning read. Learn a little bit about the corruption that created America's playground, the hack "journalist" who started--what is now a media empire in the city--a newspaper to coerce politicians and land developers, and all the shady politics that involve a number of names you will recognize from today's "corporate" Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS - BIGGEST & BRIGHTEST CON OF THEM ALL! September 2, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
P.T. Barnum would be oh so proud if he could see what Las Vegas has become to America and the world. And to think once upon a time they used to lure the suckers out to the desert with cheap food and rooms. These days theres not room enough for all the so-called "gamblers" crowding in. I use the term gamblers loosely, because its better than calling all those nice folks losers.
If the movie "Casino" wasn't enough of an eye opener for them, this book should be. It brings together all the elements that created and sustain Nevada's almighty cash cow. From the Mormon's to the Mob, pension funds to junk bonds, it's all on display in this fascinating and well researched historic expose. An illuminated social, economic and crimal perspective, that shines brighter than any neon you'll find on the Vegas strip. The gangsters and the policticians, notice I lump them together along that is with the bankers and corporate tycoons. And if you thought Howard Hughes ended the mob's hold on the casinos, boy are you in for a surprise.
Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and alike, would often reference or joke about their mob bosses all the time, but only they could get away with it. It was no secret, because thats the way business was done back then. And when Hollywood turned its back on Sinatra, he was always welcomed back by the wise guys. The same guys that knew how to treat their customers right. If you didn't really gamble, Vegas was a helluva of a bargain bonanza with it's plentiful buffets, luxury rooms and top live entertainment. The public didn't get to see the cheaters getting beaten to a pulp by casino guards, the state didn't look too closely at what was being skimmed and embezzled. They got their cut and everyone was happy. Of course, if you want to peer behind this sparkling veil, if you really want to find out what really "stays in Vegas", then this is the book for you.
truth sets free February 19, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Read this book. Truth does set free. Seems 'conspiratorial' .. but the 'ring' of truth is there throughout .. if one has ears to listen for it.
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