A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America’s most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the U.S. Constitution was... read full description
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Dec 30, 2010
Andrew
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A really interesting history of the part of prohibition we usually don't hear about it. Most prohibition documentaries/histories focus on the "What happened" rather than the "How it got this way" - which is the particular province that Okrent narrates. It's full of windbags, stump speakers, racists, politicos, and marginal figures who used temperance and the adjective "dry" to secure a national stage and temporary power. Most tellingly, as Okrent ironically notes, p
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Jan 26, 2012
Greg
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On January 16, 1919 the eighteenth amendment was embedded into the United States Constitution. The Volstead Act, named after Andrew Volstead, was the enabling legislation for Prohibition, which for better or worse, changed the way Americans live. On a political level, it fundamentally redefined the role of the federal government. Daniel Okrent's marvelous book, Last Call, explores this fascinating time in American history in exquisite detail. According to Okrent, "In almost every respect im
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Jan 20, 2012
Otis
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This is a fascinating glimpse into American history, of which I was largely ignorant - well worth a read. I had no idea prohibition lasted 14 years! My only criticism is the author spent way too much time on the politics of prohibition - that could have been cut by half.
The bottom line of prohibition is that is was a massive failure. It singlehandedly created organized crime, cost the government lots of money in lost taxes and enforcement, and failed to stop pretty much anyone from More...
The bottom line of prohibition is that is was a massive failure. It singlehandedly created organized crime, cost the government lots of money in lost taxes and enforcement, and failed to stop pretty much anyone from More...
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Jan 25, 2012
Tim
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A great history book. Entertainingly written with many humorous stories, Okrent illustrates the biggest legislative failure in U.S. history and the change it brought upon society.
Details: Okrent follows the timeline of the entire Prohibition movement starting from the beginning (including the cooperation with the suffragettes) through to the successful ratification of the 18th amendment. He explains the rush before the amendment began and the many loopholes that still allowed people to More...
Details: Okrent follows the timeline of the entire Prohibition movement starting from the beginning (including the cooperation with the suffragettes) through to the successful ratification of the 18th amendment. He explains the rush before the amendment began and the many loopholes that still allowed people to More...
Nov 29, 2011
Caryl
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For class I began reading the book, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent. Okrent literally takes you through every single little detail that contributes to the prohibition era. I am not exaggerating when I say that. Which personally, I found to be both a strength and weakness of the book. Okrent includes so many people in the book, trying to remember every single one of them will be a daunting task. I’d guess that Okrent’s target audience was adults because it had some hu
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Aug 04, 2011
***Dave
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This is a wonderful history of the forces that led to the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act in the 20s, and then the forces that led to their eventual demise. It's decently paced, mixing personalities and facts, in an attempt to explain how it was that a country that loved to drink so much ever forbade itself from doing so.
Some of the best bits have to do with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. While we tend to think of the "Dries" as monolithic, instead they More...
Some of the best bits have to do with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. While we tend to think of the "Dries" as monolithic, instead they More...
Jul 31, 2011
Jim
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Exhaustive and entertainingly written, this history of Prohibition is sure to provide meaty material for American history buffs although general readers may find it a bit overlong. We learn how widely varied forces in American society, ranging from Progressives to the Ku Klux Klan, joined forces to pass the Eighteen Amendment and the Volstead Act to make America dry and thirteen years later, how forces and circumstances, including a push by America’s industrial barons, finally undid this policy.
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Jul 24, 2011
Cynthia
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An outstanding, and eminently readable, history of the events and people that led up to Prohibition, and to its repeal. I had no idea so many different things had to come together for Prohibition to take place - groups as diverse as women's suffragists, proponents of an income tax, those with anti-immigration sentiment, and religious zealots came together under the leadership of a very small group of very charismatic men on a mission. It's a fascinating history of a movement. And a bit of a n
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May 11, 2011
A fascinating look at the politics, personalities, tactics and social currents that led the US to ban alcohol with the 18th Amendment and to repeal the amendment with the 21st. The book demonstrates how the move to band alcohol was entwined with the women's suffrage movement, income taxes, race, ethnicity, religion, the rise of the Anti-Saloon League and single-issue pressure groups, and the sometimes bizarre alignment of supporters and detractors. The book is loaded with famous, infamous, and
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Mar 16, 2011
Mary
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I found this book fascinating. The footnotes were copious so I assume it was well researched. Sometimes nonfiction can be dry and boring, but Okrent kept my interest throughout. There were many fascinating details like:
(1) wiretapping of citizens began during Prohibition
(2) the 1920 census redistricting was not done until June 1929 (it is usually done within 9 months of the census) because Prohibitionists knew that they would lose their clout in Congress when more congressional se More...
(1) wiretapping of citizens began during Prohibition
(2) the 1920 census redistricting was not done until June 1929 (it is usually done within 9 months of the census) because Prohibitionists knew that they would lose their clout in Congress when more congressional se More...
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Feb 21, 2011
Judy
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This is an amazing book about Prohibition, a unique period in American history. From 1920 when the 18th Amendment went into effect until 1933 when it was repealed, the United States was awash in illegal alcohol and legal alcohol that found its way through loopholes in the Volstead Act--the enabling legislation of the amendment. There is an examination of the forces that led to the adoption of the 18th Amendment--a political alliance between such divergent forces as the growing anti-German senti
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Jan 05, 2011
Persephone
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This book was very interesting but also very information-heavy. I would recommend this book as one to read over a longer period of time. My usual habit is to read one book at a time but to get through that one book in matter of days. This book is just too meaty for that. When I was done I felt like I had had to write a couple of papers and do a final exam, it would have been as if I had just done a college-level course on Prohibition (with less retention, of course, because I rushed through it).
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Jan 03, 2011
John
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In Last Call, David Okent provides the entire history of the temperance movement, the ratification of the 18th Amendment, its turbulent 13 years of existence, and its ultimate failure. This must be considered the definative book on one of the few amendments that retricts personal liberty and the only one to have been repealed. I loved every page of it.
The United States, by any measure, was a booze soaked nation immediately after its founding. George Washington had a distillery on More...
The United States, by any measure, was a booze soaked nation immediately after its founding. George Washington had a distillery on More...
Jun 28, 2010
Tony
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Okrent, Daniel. LAST CALL: THE RISE AND FALL OF PROHIBITION. (2010). *****. The passage and ratification of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1919 banned the manufacture, sale, or transportation of “intoxicating liquors” in the United States. It didn’t ban drinking, though. The Amendment went into effect on January 16, 1920, and lasted until its repeal in 1933. It brought on some strange times in America, all of which are thoroughly explored in this fascinating and well-rese
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Jun 03, 2010
Off this awesome review: http://www.slate.com/id/2255385/pagenum/...
"The story of the War on Alcohol has never needed to be told more urgently—because its grandchild, the War on Drugs, shares the same DNA. Okrent alludes to the parallel only briefly, on his final page, but it hangs over the book like old booze-fumes — and proves yet again Mark Twain's dictum: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
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With the passage of the 18th Amend More...
"The story of the War on Alcohol has never needed to be told more urgently—because its grandchild, the War on Drugs, shares the same DNA. Okrent alludes to the parallel only briefly, on his final page, but it hangs over the book like old booze-fumes — and proves yet again Mark Twain's dictum: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
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With the passage of the 18th Amend More...
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Oct 15, 2011
Andrew
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Where Ken Burns had to simplify the Prohibition story into three stories -- the nation of drunkards, scofflaws and hypocrites -- Daniel Okrent's book tells a much deeper story of how Prohibition came to be, the reality of life under the Volstead Act and how it was repealed. This book is rich enough in detail that it should be on the shelf of anyone interested in American history or politics, particularly because moralists always try making personal activities illegal and succeed only in driving
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Sep 11, 2011
Joshua
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An unintentionally hysterical look at the neurosis of modern americans and their political leaders through the window one of the most foolhardy movements in American History. Like most good history it provides a terrific lens to view the present. The antecedents of the Tea Party with their deliriously myopic view of "the American People", the machinations of such a movement in distorting and influencing politics and political parties and the strange maneuvering of unholy confederates t
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May 21, 2010
randy
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It is somewhat rare for me to read non-fiction and even more rare to read history. Of course, I heard this author discussing his book as I drove around with NPR on, and pulled into the nearest Borders to get a copy. Time, effort and money well spent! The history of Prohibition, from earliest efforts at local option, through the 18th amendment, the era of Prohibition enforcement (or, more accurately, the lack thereof) and the Repeal movement is well researched and presented in a style that is
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Apr 27, 2011
Khulser
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Revealing. Uncovers the power politics behind the dry, when and how the Anti-Saloon League courted the Ku Klux Klan, blocked re-apportionment so cities full of wets would not get more representatives in Congress after the 1920 Census, honed single-issue politics to reward friends and unseat enemies. A lesson in how to play American electoral game, too bad women didn't study this to pass the ERA. The tale of enforcement, or rather non-enforcement is illuminating about the chaotic division of powe
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Aug 09, 2010
Clif
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To many alive today, prohibition is best remembered as depicted in movies of Al Capone and Eliot Ness. Well, there's a lot more to it than that. There was a long history leading up to the era, and then bringing it to an end is an interesting story too.
I found the history of alcohol consumption in the U.S. to be of particular interest. See the following link to a graph showing the history of U.S. Alcohol Consumption:
LINK: U.S. Alcohol Consumption
After looking at the ab More...
I found the history of alcohol consumption in the U.S. to be of particular interest. See the following link to a graph showing the history of U.S. Alcohol Consumption:
LINK: U.S. Alcohol Consumption
After looking at the ab More...
Jun 16, 2010
Bookmarks Magazine
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Okrent, who has rescued an important, relevant, and colorful chapter of American history, explores Americans' relationship with the bottle dating back to the colonial era and analyzes the long-term effects of Prohibition on everything--from the rise of the Mafia and the Ku Klux Klan to language, art, and literature. Fast-paced and fascinating, his narrative assembles a wide collection of comical stories and outrageous personalities, such as the hatchet-wielding Carrie Nation. He explodes clichés
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Oct 17, 2011
Caroline
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This book wasn't quite what I was looking for. It's very much a political and legal history of Prohibition, and I was hoping for more of a social history.
However, that said, this is an excellent read. The author's exhaustive research and mastery of his material is evident on every page, and he still finds room for interesting anecdotes and asides - which to my mind elevates this book from what could have been a somewhat dry recounting of the years 1910-1935 to something incredibly enga More...
However, that said, this is an excellent read. The author's exhaustive research and mastery of his material is evident on every page, and he still finds room for interesting anecdotes and asides - which to my mind elevates this book from what could have been a somewhat dry recounting of the years 1910-1935 to something incredibly enga More...
Jul 26, 2011
In my lazy Americanist history thinking, I always stick prohibition at the end of WWI and its repeal in the hands of FDR, but of course, it was much more complicated than that--the bizarre union of dry forces (women's suffrage, the Klan, Ford and his Anti-Semites, Progressives), the results like the foundations of the Seagram, Welch, Gallo and Mondavi fortunes, the economic transformation of the Caribbean, booze cruises, women's bathrooms in bars, tax implications (Andrew Mellon and the wet solu
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Dec 08, 2010
Christopher
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Last Call is the detailed, entertaining and expansive look at Prohibition and its scattered and almost unbelievable history in America. The story begins with the best of intentions and ends with an almost embarrassed nation giving up this ghost.
The author details so many areas of the history of Prohibition: from the speakeasies, to the high seas, to the FBI, to the cities, the farms, Congress and the White House. The book details so well the ins and outs of the political movement; More...
The author details so many areas of the history of Prohibition: from the speakeasies, to the high seas, to the FBI, to the cities, the farms, Congress and the White House. The book details so well the ins and outs of the political movement; More...
Feb 06, 2012
Karl
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"Last Call" is an excellent book and an excellent, enjoyable read. The book is not only a comprehensive history of temperance and prohibition, it is a engaging look at American history fro the 1840's thru the early 1930's. In addition, Okrent connects a lot of dots. Nowadays, we talk of the incivility of politics, but it appears that our current lack of civility in political discussion is no worse than some of the stuff that happened back in the day. There was no Citizens United, the m
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Aug 09, 2011
Cari
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Last Call is exactly what it says on the tin: a history of Prohibition, starting with the burgeoning movement in the 19th century and following it through its peak and then inevitable decline. There's a lot of material here, well-researched and skillfully presented so its concise and easily followed by the reader. Okrent does a great job handling all of the personalities, laws, parties, movements, social aspects, cultural views, and commercial (both legal and otherwise) inspired by the 18th A
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Sep 25, 2010
Jj
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A great history of Prohibition and the first part of the 20th century. It looks at how we got to Prohibition, as well as the frenzy that saw us amending the constitution at a pace never seen before nor since. Income Tax, Suffrage and Prohibition all tie together into a related package that I had not realized before. A fascinating story of social legislation and the government process, as well as the complete inability, and lack of desire, to enforce the law of the land, both from a moral stand
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Jul 06, 2010
Rebecca
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Required reading for anyone interested in abolishing the disastrous War on Drugs that's corrupted the American justice system (and, on a lesser note, made hypocrites of us all) for over a quarter of a century. Last Call is informative and entertaining. Even an old American history geek like me learned something new: almost entirely due to the phenomenal political skills of one man, Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League, such wildly different groups as the Industrial Workers of the World and
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Sep 03, 2011
Jill
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The 18th Amendment to the American Constitution was, as the author says, one of the great "ooops" in our history. The"noble experiment" of prohibition was anything but noble and the author reveals the rise and fall of dry America in all its ugly hypocrisy. This is an all-encompassing work that was several years in the making and his attention to detail and immaculate research are+ impressive.
The political maneuvering and the influence of pressure groups such as the Anti More...
The political maneuvering and the influence of pressure groups such as the Anti More...
Jun 01, 2010
Sam
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My review of Okrent's book for In Character, the magazine of the John Templeton Foundation, is available here, http://incharacter.org/review/speakeasy-... But for your edification I will paste it below.
Speakeasy Plutarch
Sam Schulman | Posted on 06/01/10
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, by Dan Okrent, Scribner, $30, 468 pages
In his publishing and journalism career, Daniel Okrent has been fearless, notoriously taking a Parthian shot at prominent New York T More...
Speakeasy Plutarch
Sam Schulman | Posted on 06/01/10
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, by Dan Okrent, Scribner, $30, 468 pages
In his publishing and journalism career, Daniel Okrent has been fearless, notoriously taking a Parthian shot at prominent New York T More...
