Las Vegas, the best of Glitter City Book

Emphasis on The Strip, which is to be expected since it's the main draw of the city and it has a huge amount of things to offer, but that means there's not a whole lot of points of interest for searchers of old pre-corporate Vegas atmosphere, local haunts, and quirky locations. The Strip seems like a busy plastic universe with warped copies of major cities, drunken tourists, and gambling tourists, but on the other hand it's definitely something I want to see for myself and go chuck some grub into me in the cheap buffets.

In general, a concise basic guide with clear thematic sections. Everything is easy to find and DK has included a lot of useful tidbits of anything from gambling tips and game rules to pictures of emergency vehicles and currency. The maps are good and you get a clear view of where the major resort hotels are situated, what their layouts are like and what kind of entertainment they offer (for me, Luxor seems the most interesting), and the comprehensive overview of day trip locations would keep anyone satisfied if the bustle of The Strip starts to feel too overwhelming (a bike ride to the desert sounds fun).

Didn't feed my desire to go back to the 1940s and become a Vegas showgirl, but was nevertheless a good dose of sunshine and glitz for this dark and wet season.