num_pages: 312
description: This extraordinary account of a struggling midwestern coal town profiles small-time bootlegger Kelly Wagle, whose mysterious career--and suspected involvement with two unsolved murder cases--had a profound and lasting impact on his community. In unraveling the process by which Colchester, Illinois, lost its grip on the American promise, John Hallwas reveals this remote corner of the Midwest as a true reflection of the quintessential American experience. 
language: English
title: The Bootlegger: A Story of Small-Town America
titlecomplete: The Bootlegger: A Story of Small-Town America
genres: Nonfiction
ratings_count: 38
publisher: University of Illinois Press