Last Call

The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

By: Daniel Okrent

Narrated by: Richard Poe

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)

Entertaining and Educational

I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book to add to our home library!

A excellent lesson from Historian Daniel Okrent

I really enjoy reading about American history from Reconstruction to 1948. The origins that led adoption of the 18th Amendment making Alcohol Prohibition the law of the land and later its repeal upon the adoption of the 21st amendment fascinating.
I came to know of Daniel Okrent for his contribution during the Ken Burns series on Baseball. This is the first book of Okrent’s I have read (or listen). I hope to discover more.

Boooooorrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnggggggggg!

I expected to hear about mostly bootleggers and gangsters. I could care less about who was "wet" or who was "dry".

A History of Sociopolitical Elites during Volstead

My suggested new subtitle of this book. Great for political science students, not so great for history, anthropology, gastronomy, and science buffs.

While it does so in an interesting manner, it is written with the priorities of a pre 1800s historian in that it focuses on sociopolitical elites and their maneuvering at the expense of almost every other historical factor or variable. The day to day reality of the common human is merely glanced over. It vastly focuses on the big players and ignores a wealth of probably more interesting characters, ideas, technologies, art, flavors, and textures, that (in my humble opinion) makes history feel relatable, interesting, and human.

To stick with the theme. If history is an ancient complex wine made with a million varietals, this book distills it into strong grappa, and labels it brandy. Gets the job done but kinda one note.

Great story!

Loved this book. Fascinating account into history. Loved learning the names and stories of the characters behind both the rise and fall of prohibition. And, listening to this in 2018, I’m reminded of the phrase “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

REALLY interesting

A must read for anyone interested in Prohibition... none of it happened the way you think it did. NONE of it... Hollywood completely distorted and continues to distort every single bit of it... and the Kennedy's got a horrible reputation even though they never did anything illegal ... seriously read the book

Prohibition preceded by the 13th Ammendment

Would you consider the audio edition of Last Call to be better than the print version?

No

What was one of the most memorable moments of Last Call?

How we drank. The influence of the Anti Saloon League.

Which character – as performed by Richard Poe – was your favorite?

None. I didn't like his narrative style. Too slow.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Very Thorough Historical Review

Would you listen to Last Call again? Why?

Yes, there is so much information to assimilate, it is definitely one I will have to reference in the future.

Any additional comments?

The other reviewers of this book (top reviewers, really?) have said that this book both contains 'too much information' and at the same time 'covers already known facts'. The only way this makes sense is if the reviewers are historians... I found this book extremely informative about exactly the minute details of history that most media on the era don't have time or patience to cover. I was expecting tales of gang wars and police clashes, but was pleasantly surprised that the book focuses more on cultural and political changes and transformations that occurred before, during, and after.Yes, the story jumps focus a LOT from figure to figure, but always it is following the overall tale of the birth, bloom, and death of prohibition. I never found any section of this book to be unnecessary to painting a down-to-earth picture of this period of history. Recommend this book to anyone interested in prohibition of any kind (past or modern), formation of political movements, the rise to power of modern corporate behemoths and political families.. As well as a good example of historical periods where countries get overtaken by fear and radicalism.Lots of interesting tidbits to chew on, for many fields of interest.

slow at points

Sheds a new light on all the romanticized Hollywood portrayals of the Prohibition era and provides a valuable perspective on what really happened during an important chapter of our nation's history.

Interesting insight on a unique era of US History

Any additional comments?

The book takes you into the rhetorical, hiistorical battles between the "wets" and "drys" with a good narration. I felt like author had his own biased and got off track at times but the narration kept it interesting. Interesting insight on a unique era of US History in lots of detail.