Ardent Spirits PB - by John Kobler (Paperback)

About the Book

"Ardent Spirit covers the full range of the temperance idea in America, beginning in the early seventeenth century and continuing through the prohibition years, 1919-1933. Using a wide variety of sour"

Book Synopsis

"This is first-rate popular history, full of anecdotes and vivid personalities, with a compelling narrative."--Smithsonian

Ardent Spirit covers the full range of the temperance idea in America, beginning in the early seventeenth century and continuing through the prohibition years, 1919-1933. Using a wide variety of sources, Kobler quotes the amusing and often startling comments relating to the efforts of prohibitionists and lawmakers, so that the speakeasies, the rum-running, the bootleggers, and the gang wars all come vividly to life. Here too are portraits of eccentrics, instant millionaires, law enforcement officers, and murderers-all part of the Noble Experiment which proved to be one of the most tragicomic sagas in American history.

About the Author

John Kobler's (1910-2000) many books include biographies of John Barrymore, Henry Luce, John Hunter, and Otto Kahn. He wrote for the New Yorker and other magazines, and lived in New York City.