The transformations of the Strip—from the fake Wild West to neon signs twenty stories high to “starchitecture”—and how they mirror America itself. The Las Vegas Strip has impersonated the Wild West, with saloon doors and wagon wheels; it has decked itself out in midcentury modern sleekness. It has illuminated itself with twenty-story-high neon signs, then junked them. After that came Disney-like theme parks featuring castles and pirates, followed by replicas of Venetian canals, New York skyscrapers, and the Eiffel Tower. (It might be noted that forty-two million people visited Las Vegas in 2015—ten million more than visited the real Paris.) More recently, the Strip decided to get classy, with casinos designed by famous architects and zillion-dollar collections of art. Las Vegas became the “implosion capital of the world” as developers, driven by competition, got rid of the old to make way for the new—offering a non-metaphorical definition of “creative destruction.” In The Strip, Stefan Al examines the many transformations of the Las Vegas Strip, arguing that they mirror transformations in America itself. The Strip is not, as popularly supposed, a display of architectural freaks but representative of architectural trends and a record of social, cultural, and economic change. Al tells two parallel stories. He describes the feverish competition of Las Vegas developers to build the snazziest, most tourist-grabbing casinos and resorts—with a cast of characters including the mobster Bugsy Siegel, the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, and the would-be political kingmaker Sheldon Adelson. And he views the Strip in a larger social context, showing that it has not only reflected trends but also magnified them and sometimes even initiated them. Generously illustrated with stunning color images throughout, The Strip traces the many metamorphoses of a city that offers a vivid projection of the American dream.

Includes four comic strips featuring Moomin, a teenage troll who looks like a hippopotamus and passively deals with life's troubles; including "Moomin's Winter Follies," "Moomin Mamma's Maid," "Moomin Builds a House," and "Moomin Begins a New Life."

Learn to create modern quilts more quickly and easily than ever with this popular method, featuring thirteen projects and twenty-five bonus ideas. Do you believe rules were meant to be broken? If so, this improvisational quilt-as-you-go technique is for you. Instead of dealing with precise paper patterns and cutting measurements, you’ll learn how to piece fabric onto small, manageable batting blocks. Let your creative juices flow as you quilt directly on the blocks (not the whole quilt!), whether in large abstract zigzags or small structured stitches. After the blocks have been joined, all you need to do is add backing fabric and binding, and—voila—it’s finished! A modern approach to quilting that’s fresh, fun, and simpler than it sounds; it will change the way you quilt (for the better) Great for moms or anyone with a busy schedule—these thirteen projects are easy to transport because they make it simple to pick up where you left off Go your own way: This method allows you to use a pattern or improvise, creating a wide variety of design options Save money! Learn how to finish your own quilts without the use of a longarm professional “Quilting is easier than ever with Jera Brandvig’s modern spin on the popular quilt-as-you-go technique.” —Modern Quilts Unlimited “Quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) is one of those techniques that every quilter is curious about trying, but can be daunting as the process is so different to the traditional process of making a quilt top and then quilting it. . . . The book introduces the technique very thoroughly, so you can clearly understand the difference between traditional piecing and quilting and QAYG. Then there’s a great selection of gorgeous quilts that are sure to appeal to the modern quilter. A must if you’ve ever thought about trying QAYG and haven’t had a clue where to start.” —Make Modern Magazine

A New York Review Books Original There’s a certain street—via Saterna—in the middle of Milan that just doesn’t show up on maps of the city. Orfi, a wildly successful young singer, lives there, and it’s there that one night he sees his gorgeous girlfriend Eura disappear, “like a spirit,” through a little door in the high wall that surrounds a mysterious mansion across the way. Where has Eura gone? Orfi will have to venture with his guitar across the borders of life and death to find out. Featuring the Ashen Princess, the Line Inspector, trainloads of Devils, Trudy, Valentina, and the Talking Jacket, Poem Strip—a pathbreaking graphic novel from the 1960s—is a dark and alluring investigation into mysteries of love, lust, sex, and death by Dino Buzzati, a master of the Italian avant-garde.

J.J. Salem lays bare the high-octane glamour and gritty reality of a world where lovers and gamblers play to win. The Strip is a wild, wicked, and gloriously promiscuous novel that will keep you up all night. For three Las Vegas women, the Strip is an adults-only playground, a neon-splashed boulevard where excitement, seduction, and betrayal never go to sleep: Kristin Fox – the bestselling writer of controversial and sexy bestsellers who hungers for passion outside the pages of her money-making fiction. Jennifer Payne – the insightful marriage and family therapist who has an answer for every relationship problem except the one happening in her own bedroom. Billie Shelton – the casino showroom headliner who has been saved, remade, and quietly shattered by a darkly obsessive Svengali husband. And they share one magnificent man: Cam Lawford, the ultimate stud-for-hire who has gone from roaring crowds in sports stadiums to willing and generous women in luxury hotels. But who knew the business of sex and satisfaction could be such a dangerous game?

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.9px Arial; color: #424242} A short-lived '60s comic strip starring the Yellow Kid, Jiggs and Charlie Brown!? Sam's Strip broke fourth wall to a new level, playing with the basic elements of the cartoon form, experimenting with different art styles and featuring famous characters from other strips. Sam and his cartoonist assistant owned and operated the comic strip they inhabited. Krazy Kat, Dagwood, Charlie Brown and many other characters made walk-on appearances. Sam and his assistant discussed the inner workings and hidden secrets of life within the panel borders. This collection features the cult-classic's complete 20-month run, almost 510 daily strips. Mort Walker and Jerry Dumas provide first-hand accounts of the creation of the strip and other rare, behind-the-scenes material, including unpublished sketches, original artwork, photographs and sales brochures.

There's something really, really weird about Bob Fitrakis andHarvey Wasserman.Sensible Americans were doing everything in their power thissummer to avoid all thought of the Presidential election, its ickychoices, its barf-making ads, the chatter-heads and chuckle-heads onTV spewing brain-cell killing bromides and the parade of o$ciousponces who call themselves "elected o$cials" and the wannabeelecteds - while Bob and Harvey worked like dogs to protect OurDemocracy.Are they delusional schmucks? Heroic heralds of the death of ourfreedoms? Two guys with oozing envy of billionaires and their trophysenators? Paul Reveres of the internet screeching, !ey're stealingyour vote! !ey're stealing your vote!?Like the investigations in "Strip and Flip," I am once again knockedover by the authors' erudition, authoritative analysis, stunningand ill-making revelations and irrefutable evidence of a nationalemergency: Grand !e" Election.Attorney and political science professor Fitrakis and historianWasserman know their stu& - and you should know it too.I've been in the election the" biz a long time - that is, reportingon the schemers and scammers who jack with your ballot, yourregistration and your government. It started in 2000 when Al Gorewas down for the count against George W. Bush and I got my hands on a set of computer disks from the o$ce of the Secretary of Stateof Florida, Katherine Harris. Harris had tagged 94,000 citizens for removal from the voter rolls. She called them, "felons," but every one, I mean every one, was innocent, though most were guilty of VWB: Voting While Black. !at's when I encountered Professors Fitrakis' and Wasserman's #rstwork into the too-many ways in which ballot bandits can eliminate your registration, hang your chad and throw your vote into the garbage-sometimes legally, sometimes not, but always, always, stealing away the last power-voting-of the poor, the dark-skinned, the young and the learned (students get dicked around a lot at polling places).