Okrent’s Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

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January 1920, the opening year of the 18th Amendment that sought banning “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States and its US territories. Many Americans relate this era with speakeasy, public law breaking, and a public disregard for the establishment of prohibition. The 18th Amendment was the first constitutional amendment that sought to limit the rights of citizens and their rights to drink. This would become an attempt that many would soon come to realize as one of the greatest failures in law enforcement in American History. For if an American wants to drink, those with the American spirit for rebellion will surly offer him one. The book “Last Call,” by Daniel Okrent, provides an interesting insight into, as he describes it the “triumphant failures” of prohibition, and the bold display of ignorance that defined the policies governing its enactment, enforcement, and eventual downfall. Okrent takes us into the debates waged between what he repeatedly refers to as wet and dry Americans. Okrent’s remarkably original account, shows readers how the prohibition supporters integrated native fears of immigration, ignorance, and stereotypes in a movement that would in time shaped a decade and even resulted in an unprecedented failure in an amendment of the American Constitution. Enacting prohibition in a culture so immersed in alcohol as America was not easy. American had long been a nation of strong social drinkers with a strong feeling towards personal freedom. As Okrent remarks, “George Washington had a still on his farm. James Madison downed a pint of whiskey a day”. This was an era when drinking liquor on ships was far safer than the stale scummy water aboard, and it was common fo... ... middle of paper ... ...re seems to be no sense in telling of such tragedy. At no point in the book is such vivid an account given that describes the death of any opposition leader. In conclusion Okrent’s Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition is a wonderful, and for the most part fair account of the events and people living and taking part in the Prohibition era. His account is detailed, interesting, and well versed on the basis of public knowledge that can easily be referenced. Something the author seems to have been done for the reader, in the last pages of the book following the story. This book is an interestingly exciting read and is highly recommended for anyone interested in discovering what a mistake and giant failure prohibition really was. Book Review Sources: Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. Print.

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