by Hal K. Rothman -- University Press of Kansas, Kansas. 1998 (first edition paperback)

Author

Hal K. Rothman is a professor of history at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and editor of Environmental History. Among his books are The Greening of a Nation? Environmentalism in the U.S. Since 1945; America's National Monuments: The Politics of Preservation; On Rims and Ridges: The Los Alamos Area Since 1880; and Reopening the American West. He was featured in a four-hour television special, "Las Vegas," on the Arts and Entertainment network.

Blurbs

“Tourism has been vital to the economic health of the American West for most of this century. In a penetrating look at the social, economic and psychological dynamics shaping the region's modern identity, Rothman, a University of Nevada-Las Vegas history professor, ably and exhaustively demonstrates that the tourism industry has also exacted high costs from many of the communities that have become the West's most popular travel destinations. The West derives much of its appeal as a tourist attraction, Rothman explains, from its place in the American cultural imagination as a kind of exotic elsewhere, a refuge from the postindustrial urban world. Such perceptions pressure Western communities to stay frozen in time, he maintains, and play up their quaintness. Consequently, tourist demands, not the needs of local residents, play the biggest role in determining the community's values and way of life. Moreover, even as it bolsters the local economy, the tourist industry mires many locals in low-paying, dead-end jobs.” -- Publishers Weekly. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

“In the post-Civil War years, Americans turned west to fulfill their dreams of a Manifest Destiny. Soon even common folks could travel to the West in large numbers, thanks to the railroad and then the automobile, which made popular attractions like Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and the national parks, ski areas, and dude ranches accessible to everyone. Eventually, tourism transformed the Western communities it touched. Rothman examines this transformation, systematically addressing the social, cultural, environmental, and economic costs of tourism. Another interpreter of the "new Western history," he sees the West as a colony of Eastern industrial capital. This is a vital and significant addition to the literature.” -- Library Journal. Patricia Ann Owens.

Why Read It

This book helped me understand our resort community clients – Jackson (WY), Breckenridge, Aspen and Talkeetna (AK), among others. It has also helped me understand the collective angst felt by the public in places like Kailua (HI) and Bainbridge Island (WA) that really don’t wish to become resort communities. A sobering book that goes much deeper than “sustainable tourism” and other buzz phrases du jour.