Boardwalk Empire Book Review Nelson Johnson, author of “Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City”, is a native of Hammonton, New Jersey. Johnson graduated Villanova Law School in 1974, after receiving his Bachelor’s degree in 1970 from St John’s University in New York, majoring in political science. Johnson began his political career in 1975: being elected to Atlantic County’s Board of Chosen Freeholders, where he served until 1985. Johnson had a successful private practice culminating in appointment to be a Superior Court Judge in 2005. It is interesting to note that Gromley, who nominated Johnson to Superior Court, is featured in his book. Of further interest is that Johnson served on Atlantic City’s Planning …show more content…
The history of Atlantic City is still being written, and in the regrowth of the resort, many players are still alive, albeit, some in jail, the recount of the birth of the casinos and how they gained support through a state wide referendum sounds as if it came out of a playbook for any current election plan. The development of casinos was not backed by most of the state initially. Johnson writes about how the Philadelphia press, both the newspaper and television stations were not in support of the casinos, backing the clergy and many politicians. The main argument was that it would lead to state wide gambling, and that there would be increased crime. The referendum failed, and a new plan was developed through the use of a campaign strategist. Johnson was serving in Atlantic County’s government while the referendum was happening. I do believe that this further supports a strong argument for the telling of the birth of the casinos and the struggles outlined within the framework of the …show more content…
At times, the reader feels that you want to wake the community up as to the bigger picture of what will happen to their town. At times, it reminds one of watching a horror show and yelling for the girl to turn around before she is killed. Although my family is from South Jersey, and the places are all too familiar, there are many stories that were unknown to me. I would recommend that for anyone growing up in “Down Jersey”, along with anyone with an interest in ties between politics and corruption, this is a book that will capture your interest. One final thought, the very thing that started the development, fall and now rise of Atlantic City are all the same, gambling and making fast money. I guess if you legalize it, becomes
Pagan writes a captivating story mingled with the challenges of the Eastern Shore legal system. This book gives a complete explanation backed up by research and similar cases as evidence of the ever-changing legal system. It should be a required reading for a history or law student.
Killing Lincoln Book Review The mystery of how John Wilkes Booth pulled off the most influential and notorious assassination in history is revealed in Killing Lincoln. The author of this book, Bill O’Reilly, built up the plot of the story through vivid historical details and pieced them together like a thriller. He tries to explain all of what happened on one of the most interesting and sad days in American history. Many conspiracies and Civil War ideals are on full display in the book. I agree with most of O’Reilly’s ideas, but there are some that I am not really sure about because of his point of view, like many of the conspiracy theories.
Tucker, Eric, and Pete Yost. "The Big Story." The Big Story. N.p., 14 July 2013. Web. 25 Oct.
Breen exemplifies his understandings of the upper-class people by first explaining why he considers the colony to be materialized and independent by saying “Gambling reflected core elements of late seventeenth - and early eighteenth-century gentry values. From diaries, letters, and travel accounts we discover that despite their occasional cooperation in political affairs, Virginia gentlemen placed extreme emphasis upon personal independence.
Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.
In 2013, just shy of my 17th birthday, I planned a day trip with two of my friends to see The Phantom of the Opera in New York. At this point in my life, I was entirely unaccustomed to large cities, such as New York City, and felt excited to experience the bustle I expected. While in the city, a woman informed me about methods to avoid the crime so intertwined with life in the city and introduced me to the concept that, just as New York City held many attractions for tourists, it also held some dangers as well. This idea takes pride of place in Edward Jones’ short story, “Young Lions” and its discussion of Caesar Matthews. As I learned a few years ago, the city truly contains amazement for those experiencing it, but, like all things in life,
Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century. By Kasson, John F. (New York: Hill & Wang, 2002. Acknowledgements, contents, tables and figures, introduction, notes, bibliography, index. $17.00 paperback)
Newark began to deteriorate and the white residents blamed the rising African-American population for Newark's downfall. However, one of the real culprits of this decline in Newark was do to poor housing, lack of employment, and discrimination. Twenty-five percent of the cities housing was substandard according to the Model C...
In Daniel Wallace’s novel, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and Tim Burton’s film, Big Fish, the relationship between the dying protagonist, Edward Bloom and his estranged son, William Bloom, is centrally to the story in both the novel and film. Like many fathers in today's society, Edward Bloom wishes to leave his son with something to remember him by after he is dead. It is for this reason the many adventures of Edward Bloom are deeply interwoven into the core of all the various stories Edward tells to mystify his son with as a child. Despite the many issues father and son have in their tense relationship as adults, Daniel Wallace and Tim Burton’s adaptation of Wallace’s novel focalizes on the strained relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom. In both Wallace’s novel and Burton’s film, they effectively portray how the relationship between Edward Bloom and William Bloom is filled with bitter resentment and indifference towards each other. Only with William’s attempt to finally reconcile with his dying father and navigating through his father fantastical fables does those established feelings of apathy and dislike begin to wane. With Burton’s craftily brilliant reconstruction of Wallace’s story does the stories of Edward Bloom and his son blossom onto screen.
Okrent,Daniel, Last Call, the rise and fall of prohibiton, New York ,Simon and Schuster Inc. 2010
Although a fiction film, New Jack City details a chapter of New York’s development in which the city struggled to regain control over its dwindling economy and increase in extreme poverty and criminal behavior brought on by crack-cocaine. The poor economy encouraged a desperate scramble for money, and the rush for money, by any means, became the channel through which individuals sought to achieve the American Dream. Further, they planned to realize that dream in any way possible even if it meant making a profit from the very thing [Crack] that brought on their demise in the first
Im his essay In Search of Marvin Gardens, John McPhee examines Atlantic City, New Jersey, the city upon which the board game of Monopoly was based. In his writing, he touches upon both the board game and the physical city equally which begs the reader to ponder the purpose of McPhee’s essay. Did he write his essay to provide for the reader the physical basis for the game of Monopoly? Or did McPhee wish to expose the once glamorous AtlanticCity as a city in its present near-squalor state? As nothing is withoutpurpose, so to must this essay strive to convey something to its readers. It is the purpose of this critique to analyze McPhee’s In Search of MarvinGardens in order to uncover the true purpose behind his writing.Through narrative analysis processes, the true meaning of McPhee’s will be uncovered.
1. Kasson, F. John. “Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century” New York: Hill and Wang, 1978
Jordan, Michaelis & Meyer Wolfshien. The setting in this story is taken within the 1920 's in Washington Peninsulas and New York city.
Reppetto, Thomas. American Mafia A history of Its Rise to Power. Edited by John Macrae. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2004.