Aug 18 2004

Book Review: 1,000 Naked Truths

by Megan Edwards
1,000 Naked Truths

1,000 Naked Truths
by Norm Clarke

I’ve been waiting for this one. I’ve been a Norm Clarke fan since I arrived in Las Vegas five years ago. This book, I learned by reading the acknowledgements, has been in the works just about the same length of time. Clarke started working on it when he first moved to Las Vegas from Denver in 1999 and began building his career as Sin City’s favorite gossip monger.

And now, at last, 1,000 Naked Truths has arrived, and it’s jam packed with the best of what makes “Vegas Confidential” — Norm Clarke’s column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal — the first place many locals turn when they open their morning papers. And that’s not all. Not only has Clarke culled his juiciest factoids, debunked the most notorious rumors, and retold the most colorful stories, he has added dozens of lists and concise descriptions of places to go, things to eat, stuff to buy, and people to watch. 1,000 Naked Truths is part guidebook, part cultural history, and part humor, all mixed to together to paint one of the best pictures of Las Vegas I’ve come across. Whether you start at page one or select at random, get ready to keep reading. This book is like potato chips. Once you start, you’ll want to devour the whole bag.

1,000 Naked Truths is organized into categories and lists uniquely appropriate to Las Vegas. What other city regularly rates the outfits worn by cocktail waitresses? Where else does everyone want to know which celebrities tip well? From Elvis impersonators and themed wedding chapels to thrill rides and huge buffets, Clarke covers everything that sets Las Vegas apart. If you’re looking for history, it’s here, too, from Bugsy Siegel to Oscar Goodman. What’s even juicier is up-to-the-minute info about things like the night just this last June when Tommy Lee got bounced out of the Bellagio for being a lousy deejay. Whether you want to know about Frank Sinatra’s dressing room, Britney Spears’ quickie marriage, or Tupac Shakur’s unsolved murder, you’ll find answers to lots of questions you didn’t know enough to ask.

Lists like “The Strip’s Best Shows” provide helpful information for planning a night out, but it’s every bit as fascinating to check out the “Top 10 Headliner Flops” and find out what you were lucky to miss. Some other fun-to-read lineups include “Best Places to Get Lucky,” “Afterthoughts and Stray Notes from the Roy Horn-Tiger Bite Story,” and “Top 10 Coolest Souvenirs.” I also enjoyed knowing “The Goofiest Questions Heard by the Venetian’s Gondoliers” and “The Top 10 Oddest Jobs.” (Somebody has to mind the light in the point of the Luxor pyramid.)

If you love Las Vegas, 1,000 Naked Truths will remind you why. If you don’t, you can use it to shake your head and waggle your finger. Whether you use the book to seek out new places to enjoy or to improve your conversations at cocktail parties, this is a book that delivers even more than its cover blurbs promise.

Leave a Reply