Bright Lights In The Desert

When Elvis crooned "Bright light city . . . gonna set my soul on fire," he voiced and embraced the siren call of a glittering urban utopia that continues to mesmerize millions. Call it Sin City or Lost Wages, Las Vegas definitely deserves its rapturous "Viva!" Larry Gragg, however, invites readers to view Las Vegas in an entirely new way. While countless other authors have focused on its history or gaming industry or entertainment ties, Gragg considers how popular culture has depicted the city and its powerful allure over its first century. Drawing on hundreds of films, television programs, novels, and articles, Gragg identifies changing trends in the city's portraits. Until the 1940s, boosters promoted it as the "last frontier town," a place where prospectors and cowboys enjoyed liquor, women, and wide-open gambling. Then in the early 1950s commentators increasingly characterized Las Vegas as a sophisticated resort city in the desert, and ever since then journalists, filmmakers, and novelists have depicted a city largely built by organized crime and featuring non-stop entertainment, gambling, luxury, and, of course, beautiful-and available-women. In Gragg's narrative, these images form a kaleidoscope of lights, sounds, characters, and ultimately amazement about this neon oasis. In these pages, readers will meet gangsters like Bugsy Siegel, Tony Spilotro, and Lefty Rosenthal, as well as Las Vegas's most popular entertainers: Elvis Presley, Sinatra's Rat Pack, Liberace, and Wayne Newton, not to mention the Folies Bergere showgirls. And Gragg's skillful interweaving of fictional and journalistic accounts of organized crime shows just how mutually reinforcing they have become over the years. Vegas will always make people's eyes light up as bright as the Strip, witness the new TV show Vegas or the recent film The Hangover. For everyone entranced by its glitter and glamour, Bright Light City is a must read boasting color photos and bursting with insider details: an eclectic blend of stories, people, sights, and sounds that together make up this desert city's extraordinary appeal.

THE ULTIMATE HOSTILE TAKEOVER A visitor from beyond the solar system is planet shopping. A member of a dying species, he is looking for new real estate to annex. He finds it on planet earth. PLANET FOR SALE A genius at economics, he devises a plan to take over the planet without a single shot being fired. By masterfully manipulating a political and economic climate characterized by relaxed standards and minimal oversight, he surreptitiously succeeds in building a vast financial empire that transcends national boundaries and grows to encompass the balance of the world's vulnerable energy resources. Now he is only a couple of acquisitions away from checkmate in a game that must spell doom for humanity. At ground zero the task of preventing the total annihilation of the human species falls to two unlikely people-an entertainer and a recovering vampiress. The entertainer is none other than the King himself, Elvis Presley who, contrary to common belief, is alive and well and currently living incognito on the Big Island of Hawaii. The vampire is his sultry and mysterious longtime girlfriend, Desdemona. Together they are headed for a showdown with a formidable, soulless menace in the city that never sleeps. And the stakes could scarcely be higher .

"Marvelously captivating." — The New York Times. First published in 1940, Saroyan's international bestseller recounts the exploits of an Armenian clan in northern California at the turn of the 20th century. Based on the author's loving and eccentric extended family, the characters in these 14 related short stories provide humorous and touching scenes from immigrant life.

Kosky focuses on a handful of artists - Walter De Maria, Diller + Scofidio, James Turrell, and Andy Goldsworthy - to show how they introduce spaces hospitable to mystery and wonder, redemption and revelation, and transcendence and creation.

Eric Jackson, otherwise known as Marathon Man, drove for Ford Motor Company in the 50s, 60s and 70s.Monte Carlo Rally, East African Safari Rally, Tulip Rally ... all the classic greats. He was British Rally Champion in 1964. Eric's rallying career has taken him all around the world - literally. He drove round the world in 43 days with his long-time co-driver, Ken Chambers in 1967. He also found the time to build up a successful business and raise a family. He has met movie stars, gangsters, prime ministers, musicians and of course, counted racing legends amongst his best friends. This book is Eric's autobiographical story. Eric travelled the world on epic driving trips, winning rallies, breaking records and generally causing mayhem. Travel with him on his adventures, meet fascinating characters and discover why he is nicknamed Lucky Jacko as he uses up another of his nine lives.

New York Times Bestseller Fame. Sex. Pain. Drugs. Death. Booze. Money. Addiction. Redemption. Dizzying heights. Rock-bottom depths. Desperation and elation—sometimes in the same hour. Not to mention power . . . and the struggle for it. The world knows Lamar Odom as a two-time NBA world champion who rocketed to uncharted heights of fame thanks to being a member of both the storied Los Angeles Lakers and the ubiquitous Kardashian empire. But who is Lamar, really? Fans have long praised his accessibility and genuine everyman quality—he is a blinding talent who has suffered a series of heartaches, setback, and loss. But until now, his most candid moments have remained behind closed doors . . . sometimes face-down on the floor. In Darkness to Light, Lamar gives readers an intimate look into his life like never before. His exclusive and revealing memoir recounts the highs and lows of fame and his struggle with his demons along the way to self-discovery and redemption. From the pain of his unraveled marriage to Khloé Kardashian to the harmful vices he used to cope—and the near-death experience that made him rethink everything about his life—this is Lamar as you have never before seen him. Lamar brings basketball fans directly into the action of a game during the Lakers championship years. He shares his personal account of the lifelong passion that started as one shining light in a childhood marked by loss and led to his international fame as one of the most extraordinary athletes of all time. In this profoundly honest book, Lamar invites you to walk with him through the good times and bad, while looking ahead to a brighter future.