MARC Record from marc_columbia

LEADER: 03668fam a2200421 a 4500
001 1824964
005 20220609003727.0
008 951220s1996 nvu b s001 0 eng
010 $a 95051534
020 $a0874172438 (cloth : alk. paper)
035 $a(OCoLC)33967396
035 $a(OCoLC)ocm33967396
035 $9ALQ5760CU
035 $a(NNC)1824964
035 $a1824964
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dNNC$dOrLoB-B
043 $an-us-nv
050 00 $aF849.L35$bB34 1996
082 00 $a979.3/13500451$220
100 1 $aBalboni, Alan Richard.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88677441
245 10 $aBeyond the Mafia :$bItalian Americans and the development of Las Vegas /$cAlan Balboni ; foreword by Jerome E. Edwards.
260 $aReno :$bUniversity of Nevada Press,$c1996.
300 $axix, 168 pages :$billustrations ;$c25 cm.
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
490 1 $aWilbur S. Shepperson series in history and humanities ;$vno. 37
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505 00 $tForeword /$rJerome E. Edwards --$tPreface: The Interviewing Process --$gCh. 1.$tThe Early Years: From Laborers to Successful Entrepreneurs --$gCh. 2.$tThe Rapid Growth Years: Italian Americans Come to Las Vegas --$gCh. 3.$tThe Corporate Era: Italian Americans Prosper --$gCh. 4.$tItalian American Organizations: Preserving Ethnic Heritage in a Time of Assimilation --$gCh. 5.$tConclusion: The Immigrant Upraised.
520 $aFor thousands of Italian Americans, Las Vegas has amply fulfilled the American dream. In this fast-paced, readable book, Alan Balboni argues that Las Vegas afforded Italian Americans unusual opportunities for rapid economic and social advancement, and that they were allowed to be assimilated into the community at a much quicker pace there than anywhere else in the country.
520 8 $aIn return, they brought talents and interests that hastened the city's development from a dusty Mojave Desert railroad stop to the entertainment capital of the world.
520 8 $aWhile a few were among the early twentieth-century Las Vegas pioneers, the great migration of Italian Americans occurred after World War II. Italian Americans played key roles in the establishment, staffing, and growth of the Strip and Glitter Gulch hotels.
520 8 $aOf the headline entertainers of the fifties and sixties, one quarter were men and women of Italian-American background, and they were also well represented among the lounge performers, musicians, developers, architects, and contractors who transformed Las Vegas into a major city of the American Southwest.
520 8 $aIn addressing the issue of organized crime, Balboni acknowledges the substantial Italian-American presence among the ranks of men with shadowy pasts who brought capital and gaming expertise to Las Vegas. He contends, however, that the ethnic group as a whole received much undeserved adverse publicity due to the myth of the Mafia - the belief that all organized crime is ultimately controlled by a few Sicilian crime families.
520 8 $aBeyond the Mafia is authoritative and thoroughly documented, yet it has all the vitality and immediacy of the more than 150 interviews of key individuals that form its core. The book provides a valuable window on the productive and progressive Italian-American community within Las Vegas.
650 0 $aItalian Americans$zNevada$zLas Vegas$xHistory.
651 0 $aLas Vegas (Nev.)$xHistory.
830 0 $aWilbur S. Shepperson series in history and humanities ;$vno. 37.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91092453
852 00 $bglx$hF849.L35$iB34 1996