Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition in Mock Newbery 2026

Nov 05, 2011 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction

11 January 2011 BOOTLEG: MURDER, MOONSHINE, AND THE LAWLESS YEARS OF PROHIBITION by Karen Blumental, Roaring Brook, May 2011, ISBN: 978-1-59643-449-3

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall
Ninety-nine bottles of beer"
--very long song we sang on the school bus while traveling to my first NY Yankees game in 1964

"Prohibition, as it was called, was a grand social revolution that was supposed to forever end drunkenness, reduce crime, and make life better for America's families.
"Nine years later, t ...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: excellence-in-young-adult-nonfictio

Readers who pay attention to the continuing war on drugs taking place in today's cities may be struck by the similarities by current law enforcement efforts and the climate that led to the passage and the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. Starting with the 1929 gangland shooting known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, this excellent nonfiction book provides the background and describes the individuals most responsible for the Prohibition movement and then describes the consequences of Prohi Readers who pay attention to the continuing war on drugs taking place in today's cities may be struck by the similarities by current law enforcement efforts and the climate that led to the passage and the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. Starting with the 1929 gangland shooting known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, this excellent nonfiction book provides the background and describes the individuals most responsible for the Prohibition movement and then describes the consequences of Prohibition. The author describes the growing up years of Morris Sheppard, later known as the Father of National Prohibition, and Carrie Nation, the Kansas saloon smasher, as well as Chicago gangser Al Capone who rose to fame and wealth by bringing alcohol into places once it had been deemed illegal. She also describes some of the creative ways individuals tried to make their own booze, but many of these methods ended up poisoning or killing those who drank it. Although the intentions behind Prohibition may have been quite good, the results were not at all what they might have intended. The author writes, "The drys were gleeful. Crime would soon disappear, jails would close, and hospitals would lose patients. Families would flourish and American woudl prosper as never before" (p. 57). Wishful thinking, that, since Prohibition essentially created a purpose for the production and sale of liquor to go underground. Filled with archival photos that are downright fascinating--for instance, there is a photograph of New York children using containers to scoop up wine dumped into the streets by law enforcement officials--this title covers a lot of ground in its nine chapters, but does so in an appealing way. Back matter includes a glossary, a bibliography and source notes, and an index. While some readers might want the connections between Prohibition and illegal drug sales to be clearer in the text, I prefer the author's reliance on her readers to draw their own conclusions. This was a satisfying, informative read. ...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Kim rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fic-kids

An in depth look at prohibition; the reasons for it and why it went horribly wrong. Recommend for upper middle school and high school students

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Apr 14, 2012 Lorelie rated it really liked it

Enjoyed learning about a scary part of our history. We tend to think we live in the most violent times now, but maybe not...

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Dec 20, 2011 Dolores rated it it was amazing

Very engaging and readable nonfiction. There are tons of pictures and back matter here about the bad old days of prohibition. Really gives the reader a feel for the climate of the era, and the conditions in the country that let to the rise of Prohibition. I loved all the personal stories in the book. Great nonfiction.

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May 24, 2011 Wendy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2011-award-possibilities

This finally picked up when it actually got to Prohibition (on page 59 out of 127 of actual book--it takes five of nine chapters to get there); the parts about the temperance movement are pretty dull, although they provide occasional interesting factoids. I suspect many teen readers would be turned off by these initial chapters, after the interesting prologue about the Valentine's Day Massacre.

This is one of the better nonfiction titles I've read this year, but the more I read, the more I apprec ...more

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