I found this book so interesting that I reviewed it twice, a short review in LibraryThing, and a longer one in my personal blog. Here’s my short review:
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This is a fascinating exploration of how the U.S. came to ban the use of alcohol, and then later repeal the ban. What amazed me was how little has changed in American politics; the ploys that the “drys” used to pass the Eighteenth Amendment are still in use today. Wayne Wheeler, without whom it probably wouldn’t have passed, is the spiritual father of Karl Rove, and in his day was just as powerful – maybe more. The split between the “drys” (mostly white, rural, evangelical Protestant) and the “wets” (mainly urban, with all that implies) is still with us; they just aren’t arguing about booze any more. The power of that minority in the 1920′s was astounding – the “drys” managed to delay the 1920 census for almost 8 years, because they knew that the redistricting would give more representation to the growing cities, and erode the political power of the less populated rural states. The name Bronfman will never look the same to me again; read and learn why. Did you ever wonder why we pay income tax? It’s in here. The initial income tax act in 1913 was trivial compared to this. Without the “drys” it’s entirely possible that women wouldn’t have gotten the vote in 1920; they put their power behind women’s suffrage because they knew women would vote to ban alcohol. If you have any taste for history at all, you must read this book.
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Click on the link below to read my longer discussion at my blog, Hedera’s Corner.
I looked over something very much the same to this post at google news… I became interested and began looking around, then somehow landed at this site… anyway, I feel that I mostly agree with what you talk about here. But I am going to go see what additional information I can find too.