Books by local authors keep giving after holidays have come and gone
One of Goldfield’s claims to fame is that it was the place a young Jack Dempsey worked as a bar bouncer.
Dempsey fought a handful of bouts in Nevada early in his career and returned to the Silver State to box briefly in the summer of 1931. On May 31, 1918, Dempsey fought a 10-rounder in Goldfield against Johnny Sudenberg.
So, it would only make sense that the "Manassa Mauler" pocketed extra coin by breaking up fights and busting a few heads while in the employ of one of Goldfield’s whiskey dens or buckets of blood.
If only it were true.
Alas, that’s a Nevada legend involving Dempsey that doesn’t rise to the count of veracity. There are plenty of others, however, that actually happened. And I’ve come to believe Guy Clifton has collected every one of them in his latest book, "Dempsey in Nevada." It’s a technical knockout for any boxing aficionado who seeks to understand one of the fight game’s historical giants.
In the Golden Age of sport, newspaper headlines were filled with the names Ruth, Grange and Dempsey.
But while Babe Ruth earned the outrageously high salary of $85,000 a year for the Yankees, Dempsey’s share of his fight against Gene Tunney was $717,000.
Take that, Alex Rodriguez and Floyd Mayweather.
And Dempsey loved Nevada. He hooked up with willing women and cut ties with a couple of wives here. He was a favorite of Reno gambling kingpins Bill Graham and James McKay. He dug in mining claims for exercise and entertainment, and even spent time in his later years in Las Vegas.
For Clifton, an award-winning reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal, working Dempsey’s corner was as natural as a hook off a jab.
Like many Nevada newspaper reporters, especially those who get their mail in Reno, Clifton had heard colorful stories about Dempsey.
Clifton goes a long way to returning the legend to life and cutting through the hyperbole that followed his career. Along the way, he realized Dempsey was fond of Nevada in part because it was a place he could meet some women and part ways with others.
"I was surprised that all four of his wives had a Nevada connection," Clifton says.
Dempsey’s first wife was a Wells prostitute. He divorced his second wife in Reno. His third wife was born in Elko, and his fourth wife signed the farewell papers in Reno.
Reporters and fans followed Dempsey’s one-man parade throughout his life, and Clifton draws from newspaper archives for many of his anecdotes.
"The reason I ended up focusing on Dempsey in Nevada is that is really a part of his story and Nevada’s history that has never been told," he says.
Thanks to Clifton, the Manassa Mauler’s Silver State rambling is secure for all time.
Clifton’s work tops my list of favorites by local authors in 2007.
Here are a few others you might want to consider for a last-minute holiday gift:
SCREWED UP SYSTEM
Las Vegas attorney and Fox News legal analyst Robert Massi gets my vote for best title of the year with his invaluable guide to avoiding pitfalls in the justice system called, "People Get Screwed All the Time."
Massi, a lawyer here since 1975, takes readers through a number of stories, some of them heart-wrenching, of average Joes and Josephines victimized by swindlers and undercut by a justice system they naively believed might be about justice and fairness. Massi recounts their hard lessons of being arrested for crimes they didn’t commit and being hustled out of their life’s savings.
If forearmed really is forewarned, then Massi’s book should be required reading in high school government and civics classes.
TEAM FREMONT
Sally Denton’s "Passion and Principle" is the riveting and well-researched story of the lives of John and Jessie Fremont, a remarkable 19th century power couple whose relationship was truly one of American history’s great partnerships.
Jessie was the daughter of Missouri political titan Thomas Hart Benton. Fremont was the explorer who had the impossible task of mapping the West after Lewis and Clark. Talk about a tough act to follow.
Fremont was no stranger to self-promotion, and thanks to his better half he carved out a substantial niche in the history books. (It’s Jessie who emerges as the memorable character here.)
Denton’s books are always impeccably researched, but what makes them special is her affection for the subject matter and the fact she can write rings around the competition in the field.
RAT PACK NIGHTS
Jane McCormick’s "Breaking My Silence" is the memoir of her life as a "Rat Pack party girl," high-dollar prostitute, and all-around Vegas babe from a swinging era gone by. It’s also a cautionary tale that serves as a reminder that all the good times and easy money take their toll on even the most energetic working girls.
There’s another aspect of McCormick’s story, glossed over in her story, of her relationship with reputed "Mafia Cop" Louis Eppolito, who has been accused of acting as a hitman for the mob while he served as a decorated police officer in New York.
Eppolito moved to Las Vegas after retiring and proposed to write a movie script based on McCormick’s life. He separated McCormick from more than $40,000, and federal investigators pursuing Eppolito have looked into the transaction.
HELPING LAS VEGAS
"Helping Hands, Helping Hearts: The Story of Opportunity Village" is hands down one of my favorite books of 2007. Author Jack Harpster presents the history of Southern Nevada’s amazing nonprofit in a way that reminds you of the great things we locals are capable of when we work together for a common goal.
In this case, the goal of Al and Dessie Bailey and their friends was to create a program that gave intellectually challenged children and adults a place to be productive and to improve their lives. Half a century later, Opportunity Village is a beacon of hope and opportunity for people who not so long ago were institutionalized and forgotten.
Published by Stephens Press (part of the Stephens Media Group, which owns the Review-Journal), the book is filled with inspiring stories and historically compelling photographs.
THE COMMODORE
Richard Wiley is one of the underappreciated artists living among us. The novelist deserves a wide reading audience for all his work, including his latest offering, "Commodore Perry’s Minstrel Show."
Wiley resides in Southern Nevada and has taught creative writing for many years at UNLV in a program he helped design, but his novels are worldly and wise and take us to exotic places. In the case of his latest offering, the locale is 19th century Japan.
The author Russell Banks observed, "If there is such a thing as global fiction, Richard Wiley is writing it."
CASINO LESSON
Casino industry hall-of-famer Claudine Williams conveys a valuable lesson in her oral history, "A Life in Gaming." The slender work should be read aloud to young Las Vegans dazzled by the prospect of easy money without much education in the casino racket.
She tells interviewer Joanne Goodwin: "I’d like for the young people to realize that without an education they may be working for minimum wage the rest of their life. It’s a different time and everything else is electronics and engineering. Listen, even to be a waiter you’ve got to work a computer. And young people a lot of times want to quit school ’cause they’re making a good bit of money busing. Or, I would like to try to convince them how hard it is out in the world without an education. You’ve got to work twice as hard."
Williams’ hard work paid off. Her wisdom is invaluable.
WAY DOWN-AND-OUT
That’s the theme of Matthew O’Brien’s "Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas." O’Brien, a gifted reporter and writer who recently tendered his resignation at CityLife, spent many hours exploring the tunnels and drains underneath our flashy city and found some amazing characters there.
His subterranean sojourn was also one of self-discovery, and the book’s photographs by Danny Mollohon add a haunting artfulness to the journey.
Although the tunnels of Las Vegas may not compare to the catacombs of Rome, they have their unique stories to tell and their valuable commentary on the state of the city’s dark soul.
John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.
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