Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
GROWING PAINS: An Inside View
New book details valley's explosive growth beyond the Strip
By SONYA PADGETT
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Geoff Schumacher, author of "Sun, Sin and Suburbia, An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas," is pictured with the Las Vegas Valley in the background. Schumacher discusses the valley's explosive growth in his book, released by Stephens Press.
Photo by Craig L. Moran.
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Local journalist Geoff Schumacher draws connections between Las Vegas' past and present while laying the groundwork for the valley's potential future in his first book, "Sun, Sin and Suburbia, An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas," published by Stephens Press ($22.95), which is owned by the Review-Journal's parent company, Stephens Media Group.
In the book, Schumacher takes a look at the 1990s, detailing events and issues that led to the explosive growth of Las Vegas, from the founding of Summerlin and Green Valley to the federal government's role in the development of the valley.
"Without government, there would be no Las Vegas," he said, pointing out that Hoover Dam, Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test Site played a part in the development of Las Vegas.
The book is one that should have wide appeal, Schumacher said, because it gives a version of Las Vegas that hasn't received as much attention as the sexier stories of the Strip's creation and expansion.
"I think it's of interest to longtime residents, newcomers and tourists," Schumacher said, because "Las Vegas is one of the most popular destinations in the world. It's a city everybody's heard of and people think they know, but they don't necessarily."
Schumacher, 39, has worked as a journalist in Las Vegas for the past 16 years -- 10 years with the Las Vegas Sun and three years each with the alternative weeklies CityLife and Las Vegas Mercury, a Stephens publication. Schumacher is the editor of the Mercury, as well as director of community publications for Stephens Media.
Quality of life and growth issues have always been his forte, Schumacher said, and covering such issues for newspapers gave him a unique and often first look at the formation of today's Las Vegas. The clips and notes he amassed during his career served as the basis for the book, what he calls a "second draft of history," with newspaper stories being the first.
"I think this book will give people a better understanding of the city and its history (because) it's taking the things you read in the newspaper to the next level," he explained.
A Nevada resident since age 11, Schumacher graduated from Pahrump Valley High School then received his degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno. He married his high school sweetheart, Tammy, 19 years ago. They have two daughters, to whom the book is dedicated.
As a young man, Schumacher said he imagined he'd leave the small town of his childhood, and, though he did, he's only an hour away.
"I probably had ideas of going farther than Las Vegas," Schumacher said. "But journalism has been good to me here."
Looking ahead, Schumacher said he expects that the opening of Wynn Las Vegas will mark the beginning of an entirely new direction in the development of the valley.
"Wynn Las Vegas is going to be a big thing," he said. "It's just going to be a whole other wave of growth."
