  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 04/15/2011 *Starred Review* Blumenthal, author of the Sibert Honor Book Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (2003), here offers a highly readable, well-shaped look at the Eighteenth Amendment, which she calls “the most radical and ambitious social experiment ever tried.” She provides concise, clearly written insights into the seeds of temperance movements in the late eighteenth century, which gained steam over the next century and finally reached a tipping point in the early twentieth century as an organized, powerful political movement. Of course, the “grand social revolution that was supposed to forever end drunkenness, reduce crime, and make life better for America’s families” did almost precisely the opposite, and the section on Al Capone will satisfy readers hungry for the gangster-warfare side of Prohibition. A closing chapter makes an argument that despite the mostly disastrous results, there were bright points to Prohibition (like the sharp plunge in alcohol-related diseases) and looks at modern-day reverberations like MADD and school drug- and alcohol-awareness programs. Plenty of archival images lend to the book’s pleasant design, and an ample bibliography and source notes close out this top-notch resource, which will also help spark discussion on the current War on Drugs. - Copyright 2011 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 06/01/2011 It sounded like such a good idea-a nation of sober, productive citizens, with nary a wife beater, a child neglecter, a layabout, or a deadbeat to be found. So enticing and compelling was the idea that, with a little nudge from anti-immigrant sentiment and some very persuasive temperance activists, the United States amended the Constitution in 1919 to secure such an Eden. What it got though, as Blumenthal relates, is “two Americas under Prohibition”-the law-abiding drys, and the noncompliant wets, many of whom were upstanding citizens now turned scofflaws. Many adolescent readers will be drawn to this title because of the underworld violence associated with Prohibition, and there’s certainly plenty of that here, embedded in a lively discussion of Al Capone. But Blumenthal is even more interested in how Prohibition played out in ordinary households and mom-and-pop businesses, as citizens suffered from buyers’ remorse at their new amendment and sought creative ways to have their tipple. While lively anecdotes and personal stories keep the reading brisk and often quite jovial, readers are never allowed to ignore the fact that so many “good” citizens became insidiously inured to casually breaking the law, and that acknowledging the realities of this moral lapse ultimately led to repeal. A glossary, thorough source notes, a thematic bibliography, and an index are included, along with a generous number of black-and-white photographs. EB - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 07/01/2011 Gr 7–10—Gangsters, guns, and political battles—this book has them all—and presents them in compelling prose. Blumenthal opens with the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre, then traces the history of the temperance movement from the Puritans through the signing of the 21st Amendment. Important individuals are given the spotlight, some well-known like Al Capone and Carrie Nation, others more obscure but equally essential, such as Senator Morris Sheppard, the Father of National Prohibition. The author also adds a fascinating epilogue that examines the effects of the era, both positive and negative, including advances in technology and progress in legislative theory. Black-and-white period photographs and reproductions of propaganda material add immediacy to the text. The breadth of the well-researched material makes Bootleg a substantial resource for reports; a deep bibliography and copious source notes provide ample opportunities for further study. However, this book is also a lively read and an excellent choice for displays and booktalks. The subtitle alone will pique readers' curiosity.—Rebecca Dash Donsky, New York Public Library - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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