Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest
Discover the Weird, Weird West

For more than thirty years, journalist and author Martin J. Smith traveled the American West, chasing offbeat stories that were often bizarre, always compelling, and at times profound. His journey through that oft-idealized and misunderstood landscape has made him a witness to some of the West’s most interesting places, people, and events, from his Valentine’s Day at Nevada’s Mustang Ranch brothel to the deathbed of a man who spent three decades building two 150-ton concrete dinosaurs in the desert. This collection of essays, often told with the wisdom and perspective of a writer looking back, chronicles in vivid detail the heroes, heels, and cultural spasms of an endlessly fascinating frontier.

1125756664
Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest
Discover the Weird, Weird West

For more than thirty years, journalist and author Martin J. Smith traveled the American West, chasing offbeat stories that were often bizarre, always compelling, and at times profound. His journey through that oft-idealized and misunderstood landscape has made him a witness to some of the West’s most interesting places, people, and events, from his Valentine’s Day at Nevada’s Mustang Ranch brothel to the deathbed of a man who spent three decades building two 150-ton concrete dinosaurs in the desert. This collection of essays, often told with the wisdom and perspective of a writer looking back, chronicles in vivid detail the heroes, heels, and cultural spasms of an endlessly fascinating frontier.

18.95 Out Of Stock
Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest

Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest

by Martin J. Smith
Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest

Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest

by Martin J. Smith

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Overview

Discover the Weird, Weird West

For more than thirty years, journalist and author Martin J. Smith traveled the American West, chasing offbeat stories that were often bizarre, always compelling, and at times profound. His journey through that oft-idealized and misunderstood landscape has made him a witness to some of the West’s most interesting places, people, and events, from his Valentine’s Day at Nevada’s Mustang Ranch brothel to the deathbed of a man who spent three decades building two 150-ton concrete dinosaurs in the desert. This collection of essays, often told with the wisdom and perspective of a writer looking back, chronicles in vivid detail the heroes, heels, and cultural spasms of an endlessly fascinating frontier.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781493028443
Publisher: TwoDot
Publication date: 11/01/2017
Pages: 208
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

MARTIN J. SMITH is a journalist, magazine editor and winner of more than 40 newspaper and magazine writing awards. A former senior editor of The Los Angeles Times Magazine and Orange Coast, the magazine of Orange County, he’s the author of four critically acclaimed suspense thrillers and three nonfiction books, including The Wild Duck Chase, upon which the 2016 documentary film “The Million Dollar Duck” is based. He lives in Granby, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Foreword David L. Ulin ix

Introduction: The Land of Id xi

Chapter 1 Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee 1

Chapter 2 Extinction Along Interstate 10 9

Chapter 3 Looking for Big George Coyle 15

Chapter 4 The Fall and Rise of a Guitar Hero 21

Chapter 5 Lesbian Cairn Terrier Owners, Unite! 33

Chapter 6 Are We There Yet? 39

Chapter 7 The Cinematic Landmark of Red Asphalt 49

Chapter 8 Lynne Cox's Incomparable Wake 55

Chapter 9 Lamenting Liberace 61

Chapter 10 The Birdman of Mojave 65

Chapter 11 Honeymooning at Warp Speed 75

Chapter 12 The Wild Duck Chase 83

Chapter 13 Woofers on Wheels 95

Chapter 14 Buzz Aldrin's Traveling Tube of Glue 103

Chapter 15 The Mark of Mickey 111

Chapter 16 The Downside of Perfection 115

Chapter 17 Taking Tinseltown with "The Greatest" 123

Chapter 18 Life Begins at 150 135

Chapter 19 The Toilet-Valve Titan 143

Chapter 20 Corky Ra's Peculiar Master Plan 149

Chapter 21 Toenail Polish for Fluffy 159

Chapter 22 The Life and Death of AC-3 165

Chapter 23 SeaWorld's Six-Thousand-Pound PR Problem 179

Chapter 24 Aren't We All Just Squatters, Really? 187

Acknowledgments 191

About the Author 193

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