As you begin your holiday shopping, please don't forget-Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955.

If you love or know someone who also loves Las Vegas history, the Las Vegas Strip and/or the hotels that used to be there, this book makes a perfect gift. 

Everyone thinks they know the history of the Las Vegas Strip but the real story is one that many people will be surprised to learn that they know only parts of the story. Want to know what was there before the Bellagio, the Wynn and the Encore, the SLS, the Venetian, or those empty plots of land that look out of place? Why is the Flamingo one of the oldest and most surviving hotels on the boulevard?

A detailed history of each the first ten hotels on the famed boulevard-from conception to what happened to them, this book also has rarely seen images and video clips featuring the men and women who worked there, played there and helped make Las Vegas the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Read the detailed histories of the first ten hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, including the El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, Flamingo, Thunderbird, Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn, Sahara, Sands, Royal Nevada, Riviera and the Dunes. Included in these histories are the architectural designs, the neon signage and how each of the hotels evolved.

The dreamers, who saw the future like few others and who built these hotels, helped turn a five-mile stretch of blacktop highway into the Entertainment Capital of the World.

This is the story of the first twenty-five years of the Classic Las Vegas Strip-how it began, and how it grew.

Just $4.99.

Available for Mac laptops and iPad users on the iTunes Store, for Kindle and Fire Tablets it's available on Amazon and for Nook readers, it is available on NookPress.

For direct links to the Itunes store, Amazon and NookPress, go here.

I will be on K-NPR (the Las Vegas NPR affiliate), tomorrow morning (Friday, Nov. 18th)  discussing my new book: Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955.

Here are the details:

The interview will start at about 9:40 a.m.Pacific.

And it’ll repeat at about 7:40 p.m. Pacific

To listen to the live stream: 

http://knpr.org/

On the homepage, click: “Listen”

Click: “News 88.9 KNPR Live Stream”

Adjust the volume on your device! 

It should be up on the KNPR website in case you miss it so be sure to check their website.

Also, if you missed my piece on Channel 3's Video Vault you can see the video on their website:

Channel 3's Video Vault

Be sure to check it out and Remember: the book makes a great gift not only for you but for the Las Vegas lovers in your life!

For direct links to the iTunes Store, Amazon and Barnes and Noble Nook, visit:

http://classiclasvegas.com/book/

Back in August, 2007 we did a story on the Downtown Las Vegas embedded historical sidewalk medallions/markers. Some of the medallions/markers, installed in the sidewalks of Fremont Street,  touted wrong historical facts.  We called it Bad History and pointed out Las Vegas history was not a John Ford film where legend supersedes fact, especially in the creation of the embedded medallions.markers that were installed by the City of Las Vegas.

With the number of historians and historical resources available all around the Valley, the writer on the City sponsored project didn't have to resort to Google to get their historical facts. After much press not only by us but others and grandstanding by the Mayor and other officials, the bad history medallions.markers were corrected and replaced.

So, imagine our surprise, seven years later to discover that Wrong History is still being published, this time not in sidewalk medallions/markers but in the book written especially for the 150th anniversary of the State of Nevada.

Read more of this article at ClassicLasVegasBlog.com

You've probably seen on on TV- from the local access Clark County channel to History Channel's Pawn Stars to talking with the late Huell Howser on Road Trip, Mark Hall-Patton is one of the most recognizable faces of local history.

With his Amish-like beard, ever-present Atwood hat and relaxed manner, Mark has become a favorite of producers when they want someone to talk about Las Vegas Valley history. He oversees the Clark County Museum system, including the Clark County Museum out on Boulder Highway - the home of Heritage Street, the Searchlight Museum and the Cannon Aviation Museum at McCarran Airport.

He also is the history advisor on the very popular Pawn Stars cable show. Despite his busy schedule and the fact he was planning an out-of-town trip, we were able to persuade him to answer a few questions.

CLV Blog: How did you become interested in Las Vegas history?

MHP: I came to the Vegas area in December 1993 to help create and manage a museum at McCarran International Airport.  Now known as the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, I had to do a great deal of research to know the history I was presenting. 

As a local historian anywhere I reside, I began researching Las Vegas and Clark County history.  I found our history interesting, but with many holes which led me to more research.  In 2008 I was asked by the County to take over the entire Clark County museum system (3 museums, including the Clark County Museum, Searchlight History Museum, and the Cannon Aviation Museum). 

Read more of the interview at ClassicLasVegasBlog.com

Today we shine our Preservation Spotlight on Joel Rosales. While you may not know Joel's name, chances are you are familiar with his photographs. For over ten years now, Joel has been documenting the changing landscape of Las Vegas and the surrounding Valley. From hotel demolitions to neon signage to historic neighborhoods, Joel has been photographing it.

Another native son, Joel has a keen interest in our history and our past. Through his original website, LeavingLV.net and now LostandFoundVegas.com, Joel has been sharing his photographs, memorabilia and photo collections with the world. 

I met Joel back around 2005-2006 when I began hosting panel discussions at the Nevada State Museum and have been a big fan of his work ever since. His dedication to documenting our history often means he is up before dawn heading to yet another location that will become a place that isn't there anymore but will live on in his photographs.

Joel was more than happy to answer a few questions and share his thoughts on the City, its history and his passion for preserving it.

CLV Blog:  How did you become interested in Las Vegas history?

 Rosales: Having been born and raised here I never really understood what Las Vegas really was to the world.  As I watched movies and read books that are much older than I am, I began to realize what a unique and storied history we have right here in my very own home town and began seeking out the places I'd seen and read about.  When the realization came that most of these places are long gone, I began delve much deeper into their stories and made myself

Read more of the interview at ClassicLasVegasBlog.com