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Rating: 
Summary: Roll over Hunter S. Thompson!
Review: I came across this curio on the front desk of Barnes and Noble. Is he #%*%# kidding? I thought as I read the title. I started reading it; so absorbed that I figured I'd better buy it. Okay, so isn't Hunter S Thompson...exactly....its more like a MIke Davis's City of Quartz..or that strange Louis Theroux show that used to be on Bravo, full of oddballs...anyway, whatever, I loved it...
Rating:
Summary: Roll over Hunter S. Thompson!
Review: I came across this curio on the front desk of Barnes and Noble. Is he #%*%# kidding? I thought as I read the title. I started reading it; so absorbed that I figured I'd better buy it. Okay, so isn't Hunter S Thompson...exactly....its more like a MIke Davis's City of Quartz..or that strange Louis Theroux show that used to be on Bravo, full of oddballs...anyway, whatever, I loved it...
Rating:
Summary: A Surprisingly Great Book. Vegas Baby!
Review: I say surprising because my interest in Las Vegas is usually about zilch. But when I saw this book was by Cooper, a writer whose political work I know very well and usually like, I decided to take a risk. It was worth it. This book is really an interesting mix between straightforward reporting that situates Vegas in the popular culture, and some great first-person riffs from the author. His blackjack playing seems awesome. In fact, I have to admit that reading this book made me want to look Cooper up and have him take me with him on his next raid into Vegas. The writing is really, really exciting. He's not as over the top as Hunter Thompson, but just as much fun. My two favorite parts (without giving anything way): his profile of a transgender nude dancer and his reporting on a summit of gambling corporations. Vegas, Baby!
Rating: 
Summary: Politics Las Vegas style
Review: I thought I would really like the book after the first chapter, but I wanted to read about Las Vegas and its characters. I didn't want to read a book about politics from a liberal point of view that happens to take place in Vegas. WAY too much political commentary for my taste, and I only found about one third of the chapters interesting. The final chapter is just a Christian bashing bore and left me wondering why I had bought this book.
Rating:
Summary: How Honest Is The Book
Review: Page 34 stopped me cold. The author states or in the very least, alludes to the 'fact' that the Dunes Hotel was replaced by the Mirage Hotel, which opened in 1989.
In fact, the Dunes Hotel , which opened in 1955, wasn't imploded until Oct.27, 1993. In 1998 it was replaced with the Bellagio Hotel & Casino (built by Mirage Resorts, Inc.).
It would be bad enough if the book in question was fiction. However, "The Last Honest Place In America" bills itself as Travel/HISTORY.
So much for honesty.
Rating: 
Summary: From Mobsters to Teamsters
Review: The Last Honest Place in America covers a lot of the same ground that other books about Las Vegas have done in the past several years. Author Marc Cooper interviews a cross-section of Las Vegas types (stripper, blackjack dealer, casino owner, homeless advocate), reminisces about the old Las Vegas of the Mob, discusses some of the recent local scandals (the Binion murder, the political fight over lapdancing regulations that local columnists dubbed "G-Sting"), and profiles celebrity Mayor Oscar Goodman.If you haven't already read Hal Rothman's The Grit Beneath the Glitter and Pete Early's Super Casino, then The Last Honest Place in America is a fun introduction to the behind-the-scenes Las Vegas. However, there is something about Cooper's book that does stand out, and that is his interview with stripper Andrea Lee Hackett. Not only is Hackett a bit older than the other strippers at 49, but she is a full-time labor organizer as well. Although Vegas strippers aren't unionized (yet), Hackett works with the ACLU and labor organizations to protect her colleagues' rights. She is extremely articulate on labor issues and admits to being a Socialist and a former machinist at Boeing. Oh, and she used to be a man. It probably won't be long before someone does an in-depth study of unionism in Las Vegas. It is one of the few places in America where, because of unionism (and I am by no means an uncritical fan of unions), a hotel maid or a valet or dishwasher can make a decent living. This phenomenon is worth a book by itelf, and The Last Honest Place in America is worth reading if only for Andrea Lee Hackett's story.
Rating:
Summary: This Should Be A New York Times Bestseller!!
Review: What a great book...the best I've read in ages. Cooper writes with incredible style, grace and wit. One amazing character after another. His style reminds me of a Californian Kinky Friedman (if such a creature could exist). This book made me want to do do two things...(1) read more about Las Vegas and (2) Go to Las Vegas this summer. I plan to do both. And I hope Marc Cooper is planning a follow-up book soon.
Rating:
Summary: Las Vegas -- done with energy and style
Review: Written with energy and style, Marc Cooper's book combines his lifelong passion for Las Vegas with a clear-eyed assessment of its downside. He's a blackjack player who conveys his passion for the game. And he tells some wild and fascinating stories here - from Ziggy, who's been dealing blackjack for 30 years, to Randy at Harrah's, who has made a science out of comping, to Andrea, who's organizing a union of lapdancers. Cooper traces the changes in Las Vegas from the mob days of the 1950s to today's cold corporate rule. Las Vegas, he argues, is the most democratic place in America - anybody with money can play, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation or anything else. In the end, he argues, it's also "the last honest place in America," because the casinos make no secret of their goal: take your money and send you home. The book is loads of fun and truly smart in what it has to say about the white-hot heart of American popular culture today.
Rating:
Summary: Las Vegas -- done with energy and style
Review: Written with energy and style, Marc Cooper?s book combines his lifelong passion for Las Vegas with a clear-eyed assessment of its downside. He?s a blackjack player who conveys his passion for the game. And he tells some wild and fascinating stories here ? from Ziggy, who?s been dealing blackjack for 30 years, to Randy at Harrah?s, who has made a science out of comping, to Andrea, who?s organizing a union of lapdancers. Cooper traces the changes in Las Vegas from the mob days of the 1950s to today?s cold corporate rule. Las Vegas, he argues, is the most democratic place in America ? anybody with money can play, regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation or anything else. In the end, he argues, it?s also ?the last honest place in America,? because the casinos make no secret of their goal: take your money and send you home. The book is loads of fun and truly smart in what it has to say about the white-hot heart of American popular culture today.
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