5 comments about Hungry? Thirsty? Las Vegas: The Real Lowdown on the Cheap Eats and Great Drinks On and Off the Strip!.

1. This is perhaps the funniest and wittiest, "tourist guidebook" you'll ever read... it's SNL meets Frommers. Who cares about the restaurants, bars, and strip joints in Las Vegas... I certainly don't... you have to read this for the hilarious reviews and hip take on Sin City culture and life under the neon. Don't think of this as a guidebook -- think of it as a collection of marvelous essays on Las Vegas Life.



2. The reviews are mostly weird ramblings about whatever, and the little bit of food descriptions are really gross. If things like "pancakes and some dead pig products" or "get the duck if you like eating stuff you can see at the park" or "a hot dog that will sit in your small intestine for weeks" or "Thai that won't burn a hole in your colon or through your tounge" or "you probably don't care which vegetable it sprung from" make you actually want to eat, then you won't have a problem. It makes me feel sick.



3. Let's be clear here -- this isn't the Zagat's guide. If you want five star dining and classy bars, you've bought the wrong book. This is dives and diners and part of the joy is the author's incredible wit. It's written for slackers and college kids and cool adults, not discriminating diners and drinkers who wear ascots. A great book to figure out where to go to get drunk and pick up ugly people.



4. Okay, and maybe this is cynical of me, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the reviewers who gave this book Five Stars are personal friends of the author, because this book is far from perfect (note: they don't leave their name, they just describe themselves as "a reader"). As for the book, the author clearly thinks that sneering, leering snobbery passes for wit. This author might want you to slum with the "ugly people" as one reviewer phrased it, but he makes a few too many jokes at their expense (i.e. laughing at them not with them) for my taste and I found his prose both boorish and distracting - in other words, it didn't tell me much about the dives I was digging into to. Still, despite the fact that some bars he suggested closed YEARS before this edition came out, I have to say that Mr. Goldberg does have a line on what's happening for a lot of offbeat eats & drinks in Sin City. I may dislike Mr. Goldberg as a writer, but I bet he makes for a good Listings Editor. You can probably find some of Mr. Goldberg's suggestions on the web somewhere, or in some other travel guide, but it's nice to have all this info consolidated for a book. I'll recommend this "Thirsty & Hungry" guide because its listed some fun places, but beware of Mr. Goldberg's witless, turgid style.



5. A friend bought this book for my birthday - thank god I didn't pay for it. I'm sure she meant well, as did many other friends who gave me a few guides for Las Vegas as I visited there for a holiday last month. All I can say is that out of all the travel books I had with me, this one was by far the most useless. Outdated listings (by a few years I would discover when I asked a few locals) shallow writing and really off suggestions from this writer made this book a real stinker.

No comments about Conquer Las Vegas in 3 Days - Do the Most Amazing Town in the World in a Too-Short Vacation.

No comments about Insight Pocket Map Las Vegas (Insight Pocket Map).

1 comments about Insiders' Guide to Las Vegas, 6th: Including North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City (Insiders' Guide Series).

1. THE INSIDERS' GUIDE TO LAS VEGAS is a great book which, when coupled with TIME OUT LAS VEGAS, gives you a good idea on how to survive in Sin City, whether you're relocating or just vacationing there. Of course, some of the information in this book IS a little outdated, being that it was published in 2004, but if you pair it with TIME OUT LAS VEGAS, published late last year, that shouldn't be an issue.

4 comments about The Everything Guide to Las Vegas: Hotels, Casinos, Restaurants, Major Family Attractions, and More (Everything Series).

1. This book has it all and more.... broken down by each hotel and includes the attractions/food/shops/gaming/shows available at each location, along with information on the hotel's rooms and rates. Doesn't skimp on knowledge, for example, there's 16 pages on the MGM Grand Hotel alone!! It's somewhat larger than most guide books, so don't think you'll be carrying it down the Strip with you but it's great for gaining an insight to what is available for the tourist at each hotel. The only drawback is that there aren't any color pictures or maps. Other than that, it's perfect!!



2. I'm going to Vegas for the first time very soon, and I admit, I had high expectations of this book. Maybe too high, because the book fell well short of what I was expecting.

   First off, it was published in 2000, when the world as a whole was a very different place, not to mention all the changes to Las Vegas since then. Next, yes, it does give very in-depth descriptions of the hotels it covers (which is really only those on the Strip), and the dining options in them. But if you're a Vegas virgin trying to decide where in Vegas to stay based on this book, you'll have a tough time, since all the hotels are comfortable, luxurious, and tastefully decorated, and all the dining is top-rated and cutting edge. As for attractions, those attached to the Strip hotels are given a decent enough description, but the free-standing places are pretty much given just a quick once over.

   If you're web-savvy at all, there's no information here that you couldn't get yourself -- and what you'd find online would probably be much more current. If you just HAVE to have a Vegas guidebook, go with "The Unofficial Guide to Vegas." That book is everything I was hoping this one would be.




3. This book is not worth the money. The book does not cover downtown and is only broken down by hotel names. No break down of catagories such as restaurants, buffets or other items of intrest. There are much better travel books available! This book was very disappointing.



4. This book helped me plan a wonderful trip to Las Vegas. I didn't hit it big at te casinos (oh well), but I had a great time! This book was very informative.

1 comments about Fun with the Family Las Vegas, 3rd (Fun with the Family Series).

1. I have to say when I was on a hunt for books on Vegas with kids, I went through quite a few in the bookstore. I found that most of them completed half the book with how to book a flight, how to pack a suitcase, where to stay, what to bring. I already had those things done. I needed to know what to do with a 10 year old boy in vegas! I had no clue! This book offers so many ideas it is incredible. There is way more for kids than you ever dreamed possible, from theme parks, to water parks, to arcades, to circuses, to concerts for kids. The list is endless. There is no way you will do it all, but with this book you can outline, what sounds like fun and what sounds like something you want to do, and have an idea before you go to Vegas. Talk to the kids and see what they like. Definitely a must have if you are bringing kids along!

5 comments about Access Las Vegas 5e (Access Las Vegas).

1. While I have enjoyed the compact format of Access Las Vegas with its color-coded run-down's of various restaurants, casinos and hotels in the past, I found this edition to be slightly out-of-date, especially in the section on shows (featuring several that closed or changed stars prior to January 2000). I enjoyed the featured "Bests" comments by local Las Vegas personalities and trivia boxes with interesting Vegas facts. However, [..] for 140 pages [..] I found this to be a little pricey.



2. In 1996 I purchased several books about Las Vegas for a trip I was planning. I found that the third edition of this book, Access Las Vegas, was a great source of information. I found the maps and the information cross referenced to them especially helpful. Plus the size of the book made it very easy to take along as you explored Las Vegas. Since I was highly impressed with the 3rd edition I decided to purchase an updated book for our up coming trip.

   Upon looking thru the book for the additions to the ever-changing landscape of The Strip, it became apparent that the map of the strip was filled with errors. Based on their map the Monte Carlo was built on the site of New York New York. The MGM Grand has moved east on Tropicana Ave. New York New York has moved to the site of the Tropicana and the Tropicana has moved off of the map. The Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay are not even referenced on the map. The majority of the maps cross-references for the Strip are inaccurate. Did anyone with any knowledge of Las Vegas check these maps before they were published? If the maps are this inaccurate what other information is incomplete or inaccurate? It is a real shame for what was a great vacation guide to become useless. I am highly disappointed in that Mr. Wurman produced in this 5th edition.

   I went to the Access Guides web site to see if they posted corrected maps for this book. Unfortunately they have not made corrections available. I looked for a way to email them about the problems with their book. However they did not offer that option.

   For correct maps of Las Vegas visit the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority web site. There are numerous other Las Vegas web sites with very useful information. My recommendation is to skip the book and use the web sites.




3. I am a fan of the Access Guides because of their unique format, which divides a city into neighborhoods and then describes specific buildings, but this particular guide is a disaster. With this format, the neighborhood maps are especially important, and the most important of all - the map of the Strip - is riddled with errors. I counted 19 key buildings that were incorrectly located on this one map, including such landmarks as Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Paris, Aladdin, New York New York, MGM, and Tropicana. The New Frontier, a Strip hotel, is shown as being on Industrial Road! Who edited this debacle?
   
   At the time I am writing this (early 2005), this 2000 edition is the most recent version available. It is shorter than the others in the Access series, about 140 pages, of which 20 pages are devoted to gambling tips. Coverage of the Strip and Downtown is thorough (if you can figure out where things are located), but outlying neighborhoods get less attention when compared to other guides in the Access series.



4. We love the Access series travel guides and have been using them since 1988. Typically they are just absolutely great, we actually always buy one before traveling anywhere. They normally have maps of all locations in the book as well as convenient transportation maps, often times a mass transit route. This one did not have the tram service or trolley route, and our hotel although mentioned was not on the map. It also said that taxis were expensive when they were actually competitive to the mass transit and quicker. Normally Access does an especially good job of highlighting interest such as architecture and great restaurants. When we went looking for one restraunt it wasn't there. This is the first Access guide that has been a disappointment to us. There were many errors that we could not trust the map in the book. My husband actually said that we should get our money back.
   We had just used the Los Angeles Access and were just as happy as we always have been with Access. The Las Vegas Access is just a dud. Every other one we bought we great.



5. The Access series tends to be a great series of guide books and the Las Vegas book is well done for 2000 but it is 2007 and the amount of changes in Las Vegas has me begging for a complete overhaul and update to this book ASAP!

No comments about Las Vegas Eat!: Great Meals Wherever You Are (Where to Eat Guides).

1 comments about Las Vegas: The Great American Playground.

1. As a native Nevadan I look for books written about the cities of this state. I've read other books by Robert McCracken and can always depend on clear and concise information. A good read for anyone planning on visiting or just learning about Las Vegas.

2 comments about Gay Vegas: A Guide To The Other Side of Sin City.

1. Steve Friess's Gay Vegas is a welcome addition to the catalog of Vegas guidebooks, because it speaks directly to a prominent Las Vegas audience.
   
   What will you find here? Plenty, whether you are gay, lesbian, bi, straight, or gender-ambiguous. After an introductory section that includes a brief review of Las Vegas' gay history, Friess rattles off chapters that address the usual tourist quandaries: where to stay, what to see, where to eat. But Friess also includes a chapter on gay nightlife that you probably won't find in your Fodor's guide, and admirable sections on local culture and the gay community. Friess intersperses the book with interviews with prominent Gay Las Vegans.
   
   You'll certainly learn a great deal from the book. I didn't know, for example, that more gay travelers come to Las Vegas each year than San Francisco. That's something to think about, particularly for those of you in the hospitality business in Vegas.
   
   Although, it seems, many of those who run the Strip's casino resorts already know this. According to Friess, most casinos advertise prominently in gay periodicals and actively court gay visitors.
   
   All that being said, Friess has far more than a one-dimensional take on Las Vegas. He's a talented, witty writer, and he's not shy about sharing a few pointed barbs. Take, for example, this description of one local subpar eatery: "Disgusting family-style food, inebriated fat boys with coupons everywhere, and a totally obnoxious experience all around." Or the description of the Excalibur as "the largest and most unfortunate remnant of the early 1990s effort to court families." So it's fun reading.
   
   I'd highly suggest Gay Vegas for anyone, straight or gay, who wants a unique, informed perspective on Vegas.



2. Even though the book is geared towards tourists, it has great insight for residents of Las Vegas. It is definitely a great reference for those traveling.