Rum Running and the Roaring Twenties: Prohibition on the Michigan-Ontario Waterway (Great Lakes Books Series)
The Prohibition experiment failed dismally in the U. S. - and nowhere worse than in Michigan. The state's close proximity and easy access to Canada (where large amounts of liquor were manufactured) made it a major center for the smuggling and the sale of illegal alcohol. Although federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies attempted to stop the flow of liquor into Michigan and its wide-spread sale and use in blind pigs, joints, speakeasies, and the more exclusive, prominent clubs and restaurants, an astounding 75% of all illegal liquor brought into the U. S. was transported across the Detroit river from Ontario. Using police and court records, newspaper accounts, and interviews with those who lived during the time, Philip Mason has constructed a fascinating history of life in Michigan during Prohibition. Most entertaining are the hundreds of photographs and cartoons capturing the creative smuggling efforts ranging from electronically controlled torpedoes and baby carriages to hollowed out loves of bread and watermelons. Rumrunning And The Roaring Twenties succeeds in capturing the essence of the era, when flappers, urban development, fads, and speakeasies dominated American culture.  --Midwest Book Review