This book is one of the few nonfiction titles included in this year's "Books for the Beast" reading list. A notable book on the recent award lists, I had wondered about its appeal. Arranged in nine short chapters with a preface, epilogue, glossary and list of sources, this is a high-information book that spans the far-ranging history of alcohol in America. Much more so than the title would indicate. Ms. Blumenthal clearly went above and beyond in her research, using many print resources and archival documents -- and not a single website. She wrote to famous people alive in the 1920s to get their reflections (most notably, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens) and collaborated with other experts on the topic, such as writer Catherine Gilbert Murdock. The result is a fact-filled read that is clear and to-the-point, but not particularly engaging. Blumenthal avoids the current trend of trying to appeal to teen readers by using contemporary phrasing and emotional overtones. The writing is very clean -- but boring. It's almost like a really detailed encyclopedia entry. She opens with a few pages on the St. Valentine's Day massacre, and one might assume that the colorful aspects of that event might be a hint of things to come -- but no. Chapter One is a mini-biography of Morris Sheppard, a politician who became the "Father of National Prohibition" in the 1910s. In Chapter Two, we careen back to the 1700s and get an overview of the history of alcohol in the U.S. (George Washington won his first election by buying drinks for those who showed up to the polls) and move forward as women begin temperance movements in the 1800s. The information is interesting -- some of the heaviest drinking in this country was in the early 1800s, not during prohibition, as many assume; and public water fountains are a gift to us from one of the early temperance movements -- but the arrangement is haphazard. The chapter on Morris Sheppard? Why is it first? Since most of the book is chronological, it should have been placed in the middle. Random pieces of information are included, such as the recollections of a boy named Leroy Ostransky. I thought that maybe this was a lead-up to Leroy becoming a gangster or something, but no, he was just a kid who helped his parents run a bar. I guess part of this was expectations -- with the title and an opening section on gangland violence, I expected, well, a book that focused on the 1920s. Only three of the nine chapters actually detail the period of Prohibition, and only one of those -- a section on Al Capone -- details some of the horrific violence that took place at this time. I learned a lot ... for instance, NASCAR has roots in the illegal transport of liquor during Prohibition ... but it wasn't really to the point. So, who is the book for? Certainly, not students studying this topic (unless they have a true interest and want to wind their way through a lot of narrative). The vocabulary is also a bit high for the average 7th grader who does reports on Prohibition (in my district). It's a book that is far heavier on the politics than the sensationalism. Older readers interested in the subject or who enjoy the little nuggets along the way might like it. And it did make me think. Although not mentioned, the current debate over legalizing marijuana is taking an extraordinarily similar path through legislatures. Arguments for legalization -- putting violent drug traffickers out of business, lowering the prison population and allowing the government to moderate the use -- are almost identical to the arguments made for the repeal of the 18th Amendment. Arguments against legalization of marijuana are also very similar -- endangerment to the young, health concerns and inability to control abuse once it is accepted by the population at large. The epilogue notes that Prohibition worked, to a great degree, and cites the acceptance of alcohol use to be a social problem in the country today ... with high levels of alcoholism and our government overwhelmed by the associated crime and deaths connected to chemical abuse. In any case, the book has sat on my shelves for a year now with only one check-out. We'll see if continued assignments on the topic will result in more use. Well-indexed, it could be used for research by a patient student -- dry though the material may be (pun intended).
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