Twin Cities Prohibition: Minnesota Blind Pigs & Bootleggers

by Elizabeth Johanneck

Ferret out the haunts and habits of those who kept speakeasy doors oiled and politics crooked in the Twin Cities. If you take a tour of former blind pigs today, you will probably encounter nothing more dangerous than a life-long attraction to the 5-8 Club's Juicy Lucy Burger, but Twin Cities Prohibition will return you to a time when honest reporting like that of Walter Liggett was answered with machine gun fire. Clink glasses with notorious characters such as Kid Cann, Dapper Dan Hogan and Doc Ames, the "Shame of Minneapolis" in Elizabeth Johanneck's raid on this fascinating era of history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2011

Reviews

[Eli]

As other reviewers note, this is a disappointingly disjointed and anecdotal book that reads more like a high school term paper than an actual history book. Johanneck jumps from story to story, giving little or no indication as to how or whether the points connect. She also drops quotes into the text with no explanation or analysis following. I'm all for letting readers understand points and make connections for themselves, but in nonfiction works, there's a limit, which Johanneck passes time and again. Having been promised a book about the Twin Cities during Prohibition, I was surprised and disappointed by page after page of non-Prohibition Twin Cities anecdotes and Prohibition outside of Minnesota, with no indication of how they related to the book's supposed main topic.

Even with all that, this would be a three-star book if not for Johanneck's interstitial commentary, which shows that she lives in a very different Minnesota from the one I call home. "My" Minnesota, like the rest of America, struggles against systems that oppress the poor and minorities, where good, ordinary citizens struggle to choose the difficult path to equality over the easy path of lazy complacency, and where a "naughty side" includes guerrilla gardening yarn bombing and subversive art. In Johanneck's Minnesota, police corruption is a thing of the past, good always triumphs over wickedness, and a naughty side means sipping beers on the patios of brewpubs at the sites of former stills and speakeasies. I might have guessed at our differing views when the book opened with a completely non-ironic citation of the Wikipedia definition of "Minnesota nice", but I soldiered on in hope—and that hope was crushed. Perpetuating the big-hearted, naïve Scandinavians stereotype of Minnesotans ignores our diversity, buries our problems, and robs the power of our struggles and triumphs.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

My favorite part was when the author said that where she grew up there was a drugstore 'a few blocks from where Cindy lived." Who the HELL is Cindy? She was never mentioned before and suddenly she being used a marker.

I bought this book at a museum thinking it would be good, I mean it was purchased at a museum!
Me: 'Wow, it's in its 2nd edition.'
Him: 'That's because rubes like us keep buying it at museums thinking it has to be good."
Yep.

[Sara Jordahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to rate. I went back and forth between 4 stars and 3 stars. I ended up giving the rating I did because the middle of the roads seems the best. There were parts of this book that were completely amazing and I learned a lot. I really liked her added first hand experiences/stories the author had herself. A lot of the history is very interesting to me and I'm glad I read it. However, there was a lot of area that I felt were in there to take up space. Infact I don't think this book should be called Twin Cities Prohibition because while it did include a lot of Prohibition stories and facts it didn't seem like enough to name the book as such. I also felt like the book was slight random/unorganized. Overall I did enjoy reading it and I'm glad I did because I learned a lot about the Twin Cities, it's located about 4 hrs south of my hometown.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read"John Dillinger Slept Here" a while back. This book reinforced much of what was in that book. The book doesn't really flow. Rather, it is a compilation of various articles, recounts and conversations from the history of Minnesota and the rampant corruption that existed here in the 20s and 30s.

[Buffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very easy read, though a little disjointed. However, my interest in this era of Minnesota (which I only knew a tiny bit about) is piqued. I will be reading more and possibly visiting some local sites.

[William Drehmel · Rating 2 out of 5]

As others have said, not well written, bounces around a lot, but did manage to give some interesting information and addresses. Pictures were ok.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t waste your time. Book isn’t really about prohibition.

[Pam Herrmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard for me to read this book. I felt like the author was all over the place. Throwing gangster names in left and right. Disjointed like my review. 😀

[Jt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stories of Minnesota's corrupt past.

[Joshua Cejka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm researching the Twin Cities during prohibition with the idea of writing a series of novels (probably crime novels) about the era and the area in specific. You see i lived there for a few years. I'd move back in a heartbeat if i had the money and had a job. There's just something about it that, unless you get out there and explore it, you might just miss. But you can still feel the spirit of the era in the air. I don't know quite how to describe it really. And it's probably just my opinion.

I've never had the Juicy Lucy burger at the famed 5-8 club. I've never taken a tour of the Wabasha Street Caves or gone over to Stillwater to troll through some of the ghost tours and whatnot. Honestly i'm not interested in the overdramatized 50's serial story splayed out in droll black and white. I'm fascinated by the intersections of morality, lawlessness and and piety, that were floating in the air of the period.

But of course i'm also doing this research, which is why i purchased this book.

I can't say i regret it. As a whole it's a good book but i think it might have done with a little more polish and a little more editing. Johanneck frequently begins with one topic and then slides rapidly into another without mentioning the first again. The passages don't seem to be organized around any specific concept or idea except where they have spontaneously occurred to the author. She clearly has a great deal of infectious enthusiasm for her subject and not a little bit of charm but i was wishing, hoping, needing, just a little more detail and a little better poise in delivery than what it included.

Finally, the title is a bit of a misnomer in my opinion. Much of what the author addresses immediately follows prohibition, though it's hard to tell as Johanneck sometimes gives short shrift to dates, names and places. From what i've been able to glean where dates are included she most specifically deals with the period of 32 - 41.

As a whole i really appreciate Johannecks effort. I think she really has something to say about her subject and i found the moments addressing the farmer/labor party and the Journalist Walter Liggett very interesting. I simply wish she had said it better, more completely, and more succinctly.

[Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A somewhat disjointed, disorganized collection of essays on crime and vice in Minnesota history, "Twin Cities Prohibition," provides some interesting information on a fascinating topic (as well as providing resources on where to find more). The title was a little misleading, as it consists of Johanneck's essays on various topics across Minnesota from the 1890s to the 1940s, including relatively little on Prohibition itself. There were some fun bits, including personal anecdotes of visiting restaurants that were once speakeasies or cemeteries where famous gangsters are buried, and she provides an introduction to a lot of topics but there is a lack of depth to any of them. Still, "Twin Cities Prohibition" is a fast read and great for an entertaining, if superficial, glimpse at Minnesota "not-nice."

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Johanneck, but with that said, do not read her books with the expectation that you will get an exhaustive look into her subject matter--she does her research, of course, but tries to keep things simple and approachable for her readers. Her books are more like a fun Sunday afternoon drive than an in-depth, scholarly presentation--they're a quick, happy highlighting of some of the most interesting tidbits of her chosen topic. Keep in mind that she started pursuing some of her writing interests via blogging, so her writing style is sometimes more casual and conversational than most non-fiction writers (but not obnoxiously so, in my opinion).

Her books are a lot of fun when you need a little sampling of Minnesota history sprinkled into your day--the short length of the chapters makes them very nice for reading just before bed, or on the bus ride home in the evenings.

[David Marxer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Missing Twin Cities Prohibition

If this is history, it's surely a scattershot one. The author seems unable to focus on a subject for very long, let alone stay on the one mentioned in the title. There are a lot better books out there to satisfy all levels of interest...

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather anecdotal, but given the fact that most historians do not write about Minnesota prohibition (uh, mistake), it's still pretty useful.