Through colorful photogra phs and firsthand narrative detail, Picturing Las Vegas tells the story of a city whose history mirrors that of America itself: a tale of the frontier, of corruption and greed, of beauty and loss and ineffable hope. From its hardscrabble origins, to the Golden Age of the Rat Pack, to today's mind-blowing theme-park casinos, Las Vegas is the city that has it all. Mobsters. Mormons. Elvis and Wayne Newton, Siegfried and Roy. It's a place where change is the one constant, and where the pursuit of happiness is the only law. In the words of writer Chuck Palahniuk, it's the place that "looks the way you'd imagine heaven must look at night." Linda Chase is the author of Surfing Women of the Waves and grew up in Las Vegas.

She lives in California. Explores the fascinating story of Sin City, from its origins as a desert outpost to today's eye-popping fantasyland.