Last Call

The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

By: Daniel Okrent

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America’s most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the U.S. Constitution was amended to restrict one of America’s favorite pastimes: drinking alcoholic beverages.

From its start, America has been awash in drink. The sailing vessel that brought John Winthrop to the shores of the New World in 1630 carried more beer than water. By the 1820s, liquor flowed so plentifully it was cheaper than tea. That Americans would ever agree to relinquish their booze was as improbable as it was astonishing.

Yet we did, and Last Call is Daniel Okrent’s dazzling explanation of why we did it, what life under Prohibition was like, and how such an unprecedented degree of government interference in the private lives of Americans changed the country forever. Writing with both wit and historical acuity, Okrent reveals how Prohibition marked a confluence of diverse forces: the growing political power of the women’s suffrage movement, which allied itself with the antiliquor campaign; the fear of small-town, native-stock Protestants that they were losing control of their country to the immigrants of the large cities; the anti-German sentiment stoked by World War I; and a variety of other unlikely factors, ranging from the rise of the automobile to the advent of the income tax. Through it all, Americans kept drinking, going to remarkably creative lengths to smuggle, sell, conceal, and convivially (and sometimes fatally) imbibe their favorite intoxicants.

Last Call is peopled with vivid characters of an astonishing variety: Susan B. Anthony and Billy Sunday, William Jennings Bryan and bootlegger Sam Bronfman, Pierre S. du Pont and H. L. Mencken, Meyer Lansky and the incredible—if long-forgotten—federal official Mabel Walker Willebrandt, who throughout the 20s was the most powerful woman in the country. (Perhaps most surprising of all is Okrent’s account of Joseph P. Kennedy’s legendary, and long-misunderstood, role in the liquor business.)

It’s a book rich with stories from nearly all parts of the country. Okrent’s narrative runs through smoky Manhattan speakeasies, where relations between the sexes were changed forever; California vineyards busily producing “sacramental” wine; New England fishing communities that gave up fishing for the more lucrative rum-running business; and in Washington, the halls of Congress itself, where politicians who had voted for Prohibition drank openly and without apology.

Last Call is capacious, meticulous, and thrillingly told. It stands as the most complete history of Prohibition ever written and confirms Daniel Okrent’s rank as a major American writer.

©2011 Daniel Okrent (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

This is history served the way one likes it, with scholarly authority and literary grace. Last Call is a fascinating portrait of an era and a very entertaining tale." (Tracy Kidder)

“ Last Call is - I can't help it - a high, an upper, a delicious cocktail of a book, served with a twist or two and plenty of punch.” (Evan Thomas, Newsweek)

“A triumph. Okrent brilliantly captures the one glaring 'whoops!' in our Constitutional history. This entertaining portrait should stimulate fresh thought on the capacity and purpose of free government.” (Taylor Branch)

Great Historical Recount of Prohibition

This is a great historical recount of Prohibition from the very beginning all the way thru repeal.

In my top 10 history books of all time

Wonderfully researched, the writing in "Last Call" sparkles. Poe is a perfect narrator, capturing the writing style and the zeitgeist of the Roaring 20s. The story is deep and detailed, but never feels overwhelming. Even the non-history fan will enjoy this one.

Very informative, peculiar alliances

I genuinely, and surprisingly, quite liked this book, after it had been languishing in my wish list for several months. The stories of all the disparate groups for and against prohibition, the wets and the drys, and the peculiar alliances that were formed were very enlightening and informative. Several famous figures weave their way into the story, often not as one might expect, as they align themselves along philosophical or constitutional beliefs. Along the way, motivations of women's suffrage, isolationism, xenophobia, and implications for previous amendments, most notably the 4th, 13th, and 14th, get carried into the cauldron of prohibition and anti-prohibition rhetoric. The book was very entertaining for most of its run, though it goes a bit dry, so to speak, when it deals with strict governmental policy during the time of prohibition. It's on its game more when sharing the stories, the antics, and the hypocrisy, of the advocates, pro and con.

The only real wobble is near the end. At times during the text, the author starts to edge toward sounding like modern pundits who write derisively about political rivals, though to be fair, without getting thoroughly political. But in a chapter presumably meant to dispel common myths of the era, he gives a short account of Al Capone, but then bizarrely gives a vigorous defense of Joe Kennedy, stating that his alleged bootlegging was completely legal. (And by legal, he means skirting the law, like nearly everyone else did.) It really didn't fit with the tenor of the overall book, which, as mentioned earlier, was quite good.

anecdote

I enjoyed the premise and the stories but it felt there were too many anecdotes that made the story sometimes hard to follow somebody names places people things

Excellent and Provocative History

This is a very interesting history of the Prohibition era. There are many parallels to today's drug wars and abortion fights, with its moral absolutists, corrupt opportunists, and hypocritical politicians. In that sense, perhaps it is somewhat consoling to know that America has been in the grip of idiocies and has survived.

Essential, enjoyable and engaging

What can I say, Okrent is a national treasure of history. He weaves a beautiful tapestry of history and story telling building the history up from the ground. He does this by focusing on the people involved. This makes all of his books essential and immensely enjoyable

Awesome history!

I really enjoyed everything about this audiobook. I now have a better understanding as to why the 18th amendment was enacted, why it was repealed and how those political and social attitudes have helped defined who we are today. Highly recommended!

So much fun

This is a book cataloging a decade of hypocrisy matched by the War On Drugs in many respects. It just goes to show, you can't really quash supply when demand clamours for it. It's such an insightful book. You get to see the big picture when you put the pieces together. 5/5, would recommend.

Very good and fine in details and depth

Longer and more detailed than other sources. Does a good job at describing the events without over editorializing them.

Watch Ken Burns Instead

"Last Call" on Prohibition is not as good as Ken Burn's series on the same topic. I recently watched the documentary on the dry spell and Burn's version on Prohibition is far more entertaining and informative then Daniel Okrent and this title. The information is very dry and boring. There is no human side on the topic at all. I would watch the three part documentary instead. Okrent can't draw our imagination on what it was like to not have a drink. The book lacks in history of our society during the 20's. The reader doesn't get a sense of what was it like during that time. This is a huge failure for any historian if they can't tell a story about our past.