- Lynn Zook, Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955
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They were all there once. Dreamers, drifters, scoundrels, and sweethearts--whether working the crowd or keeping the back of the house stocked, everyone--from cowboys, innkeepers, movie stars, working stiffs and lucky bums as well as rule-breaking architects and artists who painted the night sky using neon once gathered there and come alive again in the story of the Las Vegas strip during its first 25 years and beyond in a fascinating, very American intersection of show biz & commerce.
The Silver Screen Oasis is pleased to announce that one of our own--Lynn Zook (aka lzcutter)--will be joining us for a Q & A about her new book, Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 on November 12th and 13th. Our guest author was among the people who stood out a dozen years ago when first encountered online at the Turner Classic Movies forum. Gradually getting to know her online--and in person for a lucky few in attendance at the TCM Classic Film Festivals--has been revelatory.
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As an admin here at the SSO and a contributor to the TCM website, the knowledgeable Lynn has been consistently friendly, observant, and, fortunately for us when life (and technology) goes awry, she is also blessed with a wry humor tempered with a kindness and patience that has never flagged.

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Lynn rarely talks about herself, but she is quite an accomplished person as well as a passionate lover of classic film. She is a graduate of the USC School of Cinema and Television Masters of Fine Arts program who is also a digital archivist, and an accomplished award-winning producer and editor. She is also the author of Las Vegas 1905-1965 and the just released e-book, Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 as well as producer of the documentary, The Story of Classic Las Vegas.
One subject Lynn does talk about is her love of her hometown and appreciation for the men and women who wrote this vivid chapter in American cultural life.
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As she does regularly on the Classic Las Vegas site, Lynn documents an earlier Las Vegas that hummed with neon as well as the work of imaginative pioneers, Americans on the move (and often on the make). Just as the movie industry was growing and changing, so did Las Vegas, affecting her residents and the country as a whole.
If you would like to learn more about this topic, please join us for our journey with Lynn through a vivid chapter in American cultural life next weekend, November 12th and 13th.
Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes.