America's number one convention center is covered in this guide for millions of business travelers.

When Elvis crooned "Bright light city . . . gonna set my soul on fire," he voiced and embraced the siren call of a glittering urban utopia that continues to mesmerize millions. Call it Sin City or Lost Wages, Las Vegas definitely deserves its rapturous "Viva!" Larry Gragg, however, invites readers to view Las Vegas in an entirely new way. While countless other authors have focused on its history or gaming industry or entertainment ties, Gragg considers how popular culture has depicted the city and its powerful allure over its first century. Drawing on hundreds of films, television programs, novels, and articles, Gragg identifies changing trends in the city's portraits. Until the 1940s, boosters promoted it as the "last frontier town," a place where prospectors and cowboys enjoyed liquor, women, and wide-open gambling. Then in the early 1950s commentators increasingly characterized Las Vegas as a sophisticated resort city in the desert, and ever since then journalists, filmmakers, and novelists have depicted a city largely built by organized crime and featuring non-stop entertainment, gambling, luxury, and, of course, beautiful-and available-women. In Gragg's narrative, these images form a kaleidoscope of lights, sounds, characters, and ultimately amazement about this neon oasis. In these pages, readers will meet gangsters like Bugsy Siegel, Tony Spilotro, and Lefty Rosenthal, as well as Las Vegas's most popular entertainers: Elvis Presley, Sinatra's Rat Pack, Liberace, and Wayne Newton, not to mention the Folies Bergere showgirls. And Gragg's skillful interweaving of fictional and journalistic accounts of organized crime shows just how mutually reinforcing they have become over the years. Vegas will always make people's eyes light up as bright as the Strip, witness the new TV show Vegas or the recent film The Hangover. For everyone entranced by its glitter and glamour, Bright Light City is a must read boasting color photos and bursting with insider details: an eclectic blend of stories, people, sights, and sounds that together make up this desert city's extraordinary appeal.

Spring is the showcase of Frommer's new emphasis on outdoor activities and adventure travel! Head for the beaches and water sports with a brand-new guide to Nova Scotia or hike through the Rockies with first editions of Frommer's Utah and Montana and Wyoming. Updated editions of Alaska and Canada highlight the natural wonders of these areas and help the traveler to experience it all firsthand. All-new guides to Greece and Israel will contain sections on beaches and outdoor activities as well as detailed coverage of the cultural and historical sites. New features and expanded coverage along with the Frommer hallmarks of accuracy, comprehensive coverage, and ease of use promise to provide the best coverage of the most exciting places in the world! Look for: -- Bright new cover look with fabulous photography -- Free full-color foldout maps in the best-selling titles -- Attractive, easy-to-use two-color design -- Easier-to-use, more accurate, and more attractive two-color interior maps -- Four-color maps on the inside covers -- Expanded coverage of the outdoors -- including sites and activities and discoveries off beaten track -- Opinionated "Best of the Destination" sections to open each guide and point readers to the highlights of the area Brand-new chapters with the lowdown on cruises and serious wilderness trips add to this completely rewritten guide to the natural wonders of Alaska. Environmental issues, wildlife, native peoples, and more are covered in greater detail than ever before.