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November 19, 2004
Writer with Pahrump ties at WinerySCHUMACHER IN TOWN FOR 'SUN, SIN & SUBURBIA' BOOK SIGNING
By DOUG McMURDO
A 1984 Pahrump Valley High School graduate that played baseball and basketball for the Trojans, Schumacher is the editor of the Las Vegas Mercury and is director of community publications for Stephens Media Group, to which the Pahrump Valley Times belongs. Since earning his degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1988, Schumacher has worked in the field for 16 years, including a 10-year stint at the Las Vegas Sun and more recently as the editor of popular Las Vegas alternative newspapers City Life and the Stephens Media Group-affiliated The Mercury. Schumacher's freelance writings have been published in the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and High Country News, but his most stellar achievement to date is the "warts and all" history he's written on Las Vegas: "Sun, Sin & Suburbia" (2004, Stephens Press LLC, A Las Vegas Review-Journal book). Schumacher said he became interested in penning a history that hadn't yet been told. "You know how reporters write history's first rough draft? I felt like we needed a second draft and I wanted to be the first person to hitch a ride on that train," said Schumacher. Writing the book was a two-year affair that consumed most of the writer's weekends and late evenings. His research came from his own archives as a longtime Las Vegas journalist, the extensive archives available at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and 100 personal interviews. Each chapter, he said, was viewed as writing a lengthy news article, and that mindset might be the reason why "Sun, Sin & Suburbia" is such a fun read - not an easy challenge to overcome in penning a nonfiction history, regardless of how rich the subject matter might be. Don't expect to read volumes about Las Vegas' fabled past as organized crime's playground; forget about reading the same jaded accounts of "slot machine zombies." Be equally certain one won't have to read one of those Vegas-as-heaven-on-earth stories either; Schumacher deliberately refrained from such sloppy cliché-ridden nonsense, and the Las Vegas he discusses is one-part sex appeal and nine-parts on the headache the city continues to face - a challenge created by incredible growth and a gaming industry that must constantly morph into something bigger in order to stay in the game. Read about Las Vegas' glorified "Glitter Gulch" and its heyday as the center of the action in Sin City, and the "Young Turks" who are now trying to make downtown a place that folks once again want to flock. Learn how the Las Vegas Strip came to be and be surprised to find that characters of lore such as Bugsy Siegel didn't play the big roles history credits them with. And then there is the story of Las Vegas away from the strip. The gritty west side and how development continues to mindlessly encroach on established and venerable neighborhoods, and a formerly segregated Las Vegas are all elements exposed to Schumacher's thoughtful prose. Schumacher knows his business and his painstaking attention to detail becomes obvious to any reader who has lived in the area for an appreciable amount of time. This is a book to keep handy for anyone with even a passing interest in Las Vegas, particularly the unprecedented growth that has occurred in the area and the efforts - some strong, others abysmal - that define how our big city neighbors to the east have addressed that issue. Schumacher leaves no rock unturned in this modern history, which is no small feat considering the number of rocks, both in a figurative and literal sense, in Southern Nevada. "I still have family in Pahrump," Schumacher said, "and I'm a regular sojourner to the valley." In writing a Las Vegas history, Schumacher tried to limit his comments to the crazy mega-resort boom of the 1990s, but one can't tell even a small Las Vegas story without paying homage to the big picture. So while the emphasis might be on the past 15 to 20 years, readers are treated to a much broader and reasoned spectrum of history. "I found myself going back to as far as 1905 (the year Las Vegas was established) through the' 20s, '30s, '50s and even the 1960s and' 70s," he said of his research. Sales have been brisk since the book's Oct. 19 launch and can be purchased at Borders, the Reading Room at Mandalay Bay, and online at StephensPress.com or Amazon.com. A national distribution - including the coveted Barnes & Noble, the nation's largest bookseller - is coming soon. In the meantime, Pahrump residents can meet Schumacher Saturday at the winery, and get a signed hardbound copy for $22.95. "It won't be a bestseller," Schumacher said of his first book. "Not ever, but I do think it will have a long shelf life ... it will be required reading for an honors class at UNLV next spring, so that's 20 guaranteed sales." Yes, Schumacher chuckled when he made the comment. Deborah Wall, another Stephens Press author, will be on hand as well Saturday to sign copies of "Great Hikes," described as "a colorful and fascinating journey in Southern Nevada and beyond for every hiking enthusiast from novice to expert." Wall's book is also available online at StephensPress.com and can be purchased at the Pahrump Winery for $11.95. |
