The Stardust of Yesterday: Reflections On A Las Vegas Legend Review

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(More customer reviews)I actually bought this book in the lobby of the Stardust a week before it closed. Initially, I found it morbid that they already spoke of the Stardust in past tense about what a shame it was gone as I sat in my hotel room... in the Stardust. It was like talking about someone in past tense while they're in the room listening to your conversation, not quite as dead as conversation would lead one to believe.
That aside, the book tells a lot of history of the hotel/casino, and is filled with lots of great pictures and fond memories of guests and employees of the Stardust. The book covers a lot of behind-the-scenes aspects of the casino, the shows that ran during its existence, and the celebrities which frequented the casino.
I think the saddest part of the book was the fact that it really did point out how innovative the Stardust was in changing the face of entertainment on the Strip. Such a great hotel with a lot of personality, closed down to make way for yet another casino/hotel/condo/mall hybrid Vegas seems so intent on placing all over the Strip in lieu of everything else these days.
Since buying the book, I've been back to Vegas, and now the Stardust is indeed closed in the past tense, and torn apart in a lot of places to be readied for implosion. After reading the book and looking at the ruins, I found a bittersweet sense of admiration for a casino that seemed to be so important to so many people, and now is shortly about to be wiped away from existence forever.
An interesting and sentimental read for those who enjoy the history of 1950's Vegas and enjoyed the casino itself.

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The shows! The stars! That out of this world big sign! The Stardust of Yesterday takes a look at this Vegas institution which has graced the skyline since 1958. Meet the big names who performed on the stages of the Stardust showroom along with the everyday people who worked behind the scenes.* Foreword by famed magicians Siegfried and Roy who got their big break at the Stardust.* Full of historical and contemporary photographs of the casino from its creation to the present.

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American Diner Then and Now Review

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(More customer reviews)This is actually the third edition of this work. In 1979, Gutman took the plunge with the simply titled "American Diner" published in hardback by Harper & Row. Done in collaboration with Elliott Kaufman and David Slovic, it was shorter and more loosely organized than the later edition, but a nice and welcome diner book at a time when there still weren't many such books around. In 1993 Gutman came out with "American Diner, Then and Now" which sported revised and substantially enlarged text and better-integrated photos (the Kaufman photo portfolios had also been dropped). This revamped '93 version was a high-water mark for diner books, a now numerous field. With it's perfect balance between individual diner stories ("dinerlore"), photos, and history, and great attention to detail which bespeaks a real love of the subject, this has been an unofficial bible for diner afficionados for the last 7 years.
Now here is the 2000 edition, published in paperback by Johns Hopkins (apparently Barry Levinson's hometown has more interest in diners than the folks at Harper). This is basically just a reprint of the 1993 edition, with a different cover, a new introduction, and a few names added to the diner index at the end. While on the one hand it's great that this modern classic is available again (it had been out of print for several years) I had hoped that there would be some new material in it. To be sure, this book still teaches you how to tell a Paramount from a Mountain View, or a Fodero from a Worcester Lunch Car, and makes a fine gift (Christmas or otherwise) for someone who doesn't have the '93 edition. Nevertheless, at the risk of sounding like an ingrate, I would have to say I slightly prefer the '93 edition, mainly because the cover photo, an interior shot of a restored Worcester Lunch Car, with all that luscious wood, is more attractive than the rather bland shot of Ford's Diner that graces the cover of the 2000 edition. But make no mistake, if you don't have any diner books and are looking for a good one, this is THE one to get----and if you've already got five other diner books, you should still get this, as it has the clearest explication of American diner history you're ever likely to read.

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HOTEL ROOM WITH A VIEW PB (Photographers at Work) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a photographer who basically idolizes the work of Bruce Weber, I know I have a strong bias for anything he releases. Yet, this book is a great insight into the mind of Weber by having interviews at the begining of the book. These interviews with Weber came at the early part of his fame so it also shows a very realistic and down toearth Weber that is not so affected by fame like some other photographers. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more than your basics about what Weber is about, or at least at that time was about.

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One of the most successful of the younger generation of commercial photographers, Weber has created a unique and immediately recognizable style in the world of advertising photography--as, for example, in his campaigns for Calvin Klein. His latest book is an outstanding addition to the Photographers at Work Smithsonian series. 30 color illustrations.

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Hotel Lachapelle Review

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(More customer reviews)Oooh this is an AMAZING WONDERFUL UNBELIEVABLE book of art. This is truly a photographic masterpiece with digital manipulations and careful eye for detail.
I was fascinated with this book from the very first time I picked it up. Each page is not simply a photo. It is a photo mixed with complementary photoshop tricks and sexy poses, eye-shocking closeups and bizarre props.
A few of my favorites:
There is one photo of a nude african-american man bent over with a vase of red roses stuck in his butt. Just writing it almost sounds laughable, but when you SEE it on the page - it really just gives you respect for the art.
There is a photo of pamela anderson lee nude covering her body with her hands as she stands with one foot out of a giant egg shell, as though she is a little bird hatching or something.
There is a photo of jerry springer with a beat up face (so detailed you can see the stitches and banged up scabs) and he is smiling and holding his thumb up.
There is a photo of Madonna (was once the cover of rolling stone) where she is laying inside of pink water with her hand in the air seducing the camera - with an airbrushed purple dragon behind her followed by rays of light, like one of her albums.
There is a photo of Lil Kim in the nude (except for a flesh-toned hat) and ALL over her body she is covered in Louis Vuitton brand symbols. As though she is a piece of leather, branded.
-- The WHOLE book is a compilation of some of the most extraordinary photos and backdrops you can imagine.
And to top it off, it's full of celebrities. Just packed with celebrities. Including Anna Kournikova, Marilyn Manson, Shirley Manson from Garbage, Cher, Elton John, Tori Amos, Mark Whalberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and a ton more. I can't even name them all.
You gotta have this. I can't imagine anyone not wanting this. It does cost quite a bit, but when you think of all the conversations you can make with just ONE picture in this book, it makes the price seem like nothing.
LOL I took this book to Starbucks and I left with two new friends. Gotta love it.

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" Hotel LaChapelletakes the reader another step deeper into the shocking world of David LaChapelle.Each full-color page is metaphorically, a room in a crazy hotel.Hotel LaChapelleis full of neon, sex, and strange people;and the result is a beachy postcard from that nuns-with-guns place in the sun that could only exist in the vision of David LaChapelle. Hotel LaChapellewill be luxuriously printed and handsomely, colorfully boxed. Boasting more than 158 full-color images, it is a passport to this groundbreaking photographer's unique imagination.His subjects include the hottest celebrities to today: Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna, Tori Amos, Uma Thurman, Marilyn Manson, Daniel Day Lewis, Mike Myers, Pamela Anderson, and many others. Spectacular in style as in content,Hotel LaChapellepromises to be the wildest, freshest volume of photography of the next few years. "

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