Neon Dreams - Lance Rich
$59.95
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-history/neon-dreams/

The Hype:

For the first time, the captivating story of how Las Vegas became the magic capital of the world has been captured in a gorgeous hardcover book filled with brand-new interviews and never-before-seen photos. This enthralling history of Las Vegas magic is filled with unexpected twists and turns that will have every magician or magic enthusiast hooked from start to finish.

Neon Dreams boasts nearly 400 pages and over 370 stunning full-color photographs, many of which are being published for the first time, highlighting how Las Vegas evolved from a humble train-stop town into the land of multi-million-dollar magic spectacles. This includes dozens of all-new interviews with iconic entertainers. Everything is presented in an exceptional hardcover book with a special lenticular cover and foreword by David Copperfield.

The Las Vegas Strip has been home to magicians and magic shows for generations. But how did this happen? When did the city become synonymous with magical entertainment? Who was the first magician on the Las Vegas Strip? All this and more is answered in Neon Dreams by Lance Rich.

You’ll experience the exhilarating highs, like the unique set of circumstances that led Lance Burton and David Copperfield to set records not just in magic, but in the entire history of show business. Or how Siegfried and Roy’s unprecedented achievements cleared the neon path for performers for many years to come. There are even some more obscure insights you’d never expect like how the Hoover Dam changed the course of magic history.

Of course, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride. So, you’ll also get a front-row seat to the lows, like how a multi-million-dollar magic show barely made it through its second night. Or the infamous struggles of Caesar's Magical Empire, one of Las Vegas’ most iconic “failed” attractions.

Undoubtedly though, the real treasure of Neon Dreams is the discovery of the very first magician to perform regularly on The Las Vegas Strip, Gloria Dea. It’s a surprising and powerful story that rewrites magic history. A must-read for any fan of magic.

My Take:

Neon Dreams is a gorgeously printed book as you would expect from Vanishing Inc. Printing on heavy coated stock gives the book some heft but makes it a lovely edition to your book shelf.

At one of Harry Allen’s conventions in Daytona, my wife and I were sitting at the bar enjoying a drink. An older woman was sitting next to my wife and managed to spill her glass of wine onto my wife’s dress. Fortunately the dress was black and didn’t show a stain. The woman was mortified and so apologetic. She said her name was Mary Naylor and that she had been a big star on the British stage back in the 1940‘s. Turns out that getting wine spilled was one of the highlights of the convention. It gave us a chance to meet and chat with Mary. Then, the kicker. Mary was the widow of Jack Kodell and she said that he was the first magician to perform on the Vegas strip. So when this book came out, obviously I wanted to check the veracity of her statement. I loved Mary but as it turned out she was incorrect.

Throughout the entire book, you are given little teasers that make it known that you won’t know the identity of the first magician until you have read the entire book. However the name has already been given you in the ad copy. Still the journey is a very entertaining trip.

The photos are marvelous and give you an excellent view of what Vegas looked like as it grew. Inside the front cover is a photo of Vegas back in the day. A dirt road, a small village of wooden structures and a train station. Before the strip was ever thought of, a magician performed at the Las Vegas Opera House in 1908. And there were a few more after that. However this book (while telling the history of the town) focuses on the shows on the Strip.

I have read lots of books on Vegas history with the majority of them involving someone getting shot and the mob. Not here. Not  an ounce of gangsters or the Rat Pack. This alone makes this my favorite book on Vegas.

There is extensive coverage of a multitude of performers. How they started, bumps along the way, and the rewards at the end. This book not only gives the facts but it gets you to know the performers and almost count them as friends. Seeing the names reminds me of those I have met along the way that have slipped my mind. It did mention in passing the magician who really says Las Vegas to me. Mac King. I think he deserved a larger writeup but there is only so much room to insert hundreds of performers and Lance has done a magnificent job in putting this together. And I got to meet old friends that had been forgotten.

Along the way, you meet the Masked Magician and you might not be familiar with the Fercos brothers but they did an act that was a clone for Siegfried and Roy, just not nearly as good. There is also the promoter who skipped without paying the acts so they almost had to hitchhike home. Where there is a buck to be gotten illicitly, there is always someone willing to take it.

All along the way, you are given little clues as to who was first and the answer just might surprise you. Lance has performed extensive detective work in uncovering the identity. He has gone through old posters, flyers, magazines and newsclippings. He even found someone who not only knew her but was able to put Lance together with her. Plus, he had a couple of knowledgeable friends to help him research.

I believe my favorite part of the whole book was when a 99th birthday party was thrown for her and all the stars (even Copperfield) came out for her special day. She wanted no gifts, just wanted to see everyone do a little magic. Copperfield toured her through his museum a couple of times where she was thrilled to see one of her old costumes. She is gone now but I would make book that her birthday party was one of the premier events in her life. You will not help falling in love with her.

Lance has not only done a fine job of ferreting out the details but has also proved himself a fine storyteller. If you know Vegas or even have visited, you will find a ton of familiar things here. If you have never been, this will make you want to go. I have been fortunately enough to go twice. Once for Magic Live 2013 (where I got to see the wonderful Wayne Dobson and Steve Valentine). On the second visit, we arrived in Vegas the night before the concert shooting which none of us will ever forget.

I am a voracious reader and tend to fly through a book while reviewing it but this book proved to be a bump in the road. Once you start reading, you want to take your time and savor every page like a glass of fine wine. It would also make a wonderful coffee table book. Anyone who came to visit would pick this up and maybe decide they have to own a copy, too.

Highly, highly recommended. Pick this up and prepare for a long night of reading. Kudos Lance. and thanks.

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