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Prohibition

Prohibition

Thirteen Years That Changed America

by Edward Behr
Paperback
Publication Date: 01/05/2011

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"A excellent and honest book that does not flinch at unpalatable facts."--The New York Times Book Review From the bestselling author of The Last Emperor comes this rip-roaring history of the government's attempt to end America's love affair with liquor--which failed miserably. On January 16, 1920, America went dry. For the next thirteen years, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the making, selling, or transportation of "intoxicating liquors," heralding a new era of crime and corruption on all levels of society. Instead of eliminating alcohol, Prohibition spurred more drinking than ever before.

Formerly law-abiding citizens brewed moonshine, became rum- runners, and frequented speakeasies. Druggists, who could dispense "medicinal quantities" of alcohol, found their customer base exploding overnight. So many people from all walks of life defied the ban that Will Rogers famously quipped, "Prohibition is better than no liquor at all." Here is the full, rollicking story of those tumultuous days, from the flappers of the Jazz Age and the "beautiful and the damned" who drank their lives away in smoky speakeasies to bootlegging gangsters--Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone--and the notorious St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Edward Behr paints a portrait of an era that changed the country forever.
ISBN:
9781611450095
9781611450095
Category:
History of the Americas
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
01-05-2011
Language:
English
Publisher:
Skyhorse Publishing
Country of origin:
United States
Pages:
288
Dimensions (mm):
226x152x20mm
Weight:
0.36kg
Edward Behr

Edward Behr is a veteran journalist and war correspondent turned author and broadcaster. His many books include studies of the Algerian War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a best-selling biography of the 'Last Emperor', Pu Yi ( which was awarded the Gutenberg Prize in 1988 and was the companion book to Bertolucci's Oscar-winning film), and another, published in Penguin, on the late Emperor Hirohito. Behr's autobiography and humorous reflections on the nature of journalism, Anyone Here Been Raped and Speaks English?, also published in Penguin, is regarded as a modern classic, and his novel, Getting Even, has been translated into ten languages.

His numerous television documentaries include Red Dynasty, a three- part series for BBC2 which documented Chinese communism and the events leading to the massacre at Tiananmen Square; The Rise and Fall of Ceausescu, a BBC-PBS co-production which was nominated for an Emmy in 1992; and a prize-winning documentary on India for French television. He has also written film scripts and published books on the musicals Les Misérables and the making of Miss Saigon.

When not travelling, Edward Behr lives in Paris and in Ramatuelle with his wife and two cats.

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