An Atlantic City Reader provides a representative sampling of the best of the many disparate interpretations of the iconic resort by famous authors (Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Damon Runyon, Langston Hughes, and Elmore Leonard) as well as lesser known but insightful observers, including Frank Ward O’Malley and John Matheus. The Reader offers a composite of fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction prose, and newspaper and magazine reports, presenting a context to understand better the complex nature of Atlantic City. Divided into four chronological periods, the anthology traces the city’s history from its humble beginnings as a quiet resort destination to its rapid ascent as the "world’s playground," its gradual decline, and its hopeful, albeit tenuous, future. While chronicling its storied past, the book also shows the parallel nature of its endemic political corruption and racism that have always been embedded in the city.