2002's The Grit is similar to an updated version of Literaly Las Vegas, only without the fiction and a tad more serious minded. Plus the pieces used here focus more on Vegas then-current social and political landscape.

 

There's a whole chapter called 'Nuts And Bolts' containing articles of the towns growth and infrastructure, like the water and power it consumes and fights over them with other states and often its customers (and you don't want to know how your sausage is made here!). A fine chapter, 'Voices' contains stories of Vegas residents. Like any Vegas book, it has a few titles about women working here.

 

A highlights include 'Rise To Power: The Recent Rise of the Culinary Union in Las Vegas' which traces in detail of the raise, fall and raise of the biggest union in town, including their long and hard fought victory over The Frontier in the 90's. 'How I Became A Native' finds a young resident caught in the stereotype of living in 'VEGAS!' and in between the mob and corporate eras of the resorts his mother use to work in.

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There's a section that scrutinizes Hollywood's version of Vegas is when things get loopy, especially around Martin Scorsese' Casino, probably the biggest Vegas movie since the original 'Ocean's 11' and 'Viva Las Vegas' These scribes here tent to over-intellectualize Hollywood's fractured version of the frenzied reality known as Vegas. However, I can't see this much of a fault as you got these two forces colliding on film with the audience and critics trying to figure out this mess. There are enough examples of reality being forced through the sausage factory (like Washington D. C. and New York City) as it is, and it's worse with this drama queen on steroids fight between Hollywood and Vegas trying to dominate their realities over each other.

 

Well, now I'm over scrutinizing things here. Well, it's a good and serious book......and I'm pretty sure if this was published after the Big Oops of 2008, it would get more serious, interesting and maybe depressing.