Rotgut Rustlers: Whiskey, Women, And Wild Times In The West

by Erin H. Turner (Editor)

From 1920 to 1933, Prohibition was the law of the land, even in the relatively lawless new Western states―which were just a few years beyond their frontier origins. Throughout Washington, Oregon, Montana, Kansas, and elsewhere, bootleggers built their hideouts and organized crime flourished. Rotgut Rustlers is an unprecedented compilation of true stories about the wild outlaws and wild towns of the West during these years. This lively collection tells the stories of women bootleggers and their male compatriots―including tales of couples who emulated Bonnie and Clyde, of secret rendezvous, and of cops on the take.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this series of short stories was somewhat uneven, with some stories better written than others. There were some very interesting true stories about mostly small-time criminals in the West during the years after the Civil War and before WWII, including Helen Sieler, the Woman With Ten Lives. She was bludgeoned, shot eight times and survived to tell the story.