Mr. Las Vegas Has a Bad Knee: and Other Tales of the People, Places, and Peculiarities of the Modern American Southwest

We have a collection of twenty-four short essays by journalist Martin Smith in his book Mr. Las Vegas has a Bad Knee. These essays and stories are not new–all were originally published in a number of magazines and newspapers in Southern California, mainly in Orange County. This book is a compilation of those pieces, some with modifications. They meant to show interesting facts about the American Southwest, again, mostly in Southern California. Smith’s writing is good and mildly entertaining, but these essays are quite lightweight, not particularly thought-provoking. Individually they may have meant something for locals, but as a collection they are a little weak. To whom was Smith writing? Perhaps for some local readers, but anyone reading these from other parts of the country is not likely to be entertained. Each one is illustrated by a black-and-white photo, but these are not the author’s and are used with permissions. A typical title (besides the book title writing about Wayne Newton) is “Lesbian Cairn Terrier Owners, Unite!” focusing on a small group having three members and meeting once a week.