Nevada: A History of the Silver State (Shepperson Series in Nevada History)

Michael S. Green

"Michael S. Green, a leading Nevada historian, provides a detailed survey of the Silver State's past, from the arrival of the early European explorers, to the predominance of mining in the 1800s, to the rise of world-class tourism in the twentieth century, and to more recent attempts to diversify the economy. Of the numerous themes central to Green's analysis of Nevada's history, luck plays a significant role in the state's growth. The miners and gamblers who first visited the state all bet on luck. Today, the biggest contributor to Nevada's tourist economy, gaming, still relies on that same belief in luck. Nevada's financial system has generally been based on a "one industry" economy--first mining and, more recently, gaming. Green delves deeply into the limitations of this structure, while also exploring the theme of exploitation of the land and the overuse of the state's natural...