Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
SKU: 95090419781

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Sale price$16.83 Regular price$18.70
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 4 - Jul 9

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of ProhibitionA brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America's most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the US 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.

A brilliant, authoritative, and fascinating history of America's most puzzling era, the years 1920 to 1933, when the US 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 twenties 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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: 05/31/2011
ISBN: 9780743277044
Pages: 468
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 8.38h x 5.50w x 1.39d

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 07/10/2011 pg. 24
Christian Century 09/06/2011 pg. 32
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 95090419781

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.1 ★★★★★
Based on 615 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
T
Verified Purchase
Tarheel1979
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Great toy
Color: Red
Indestructible by my Boxers
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2026
M
Verified Purchase
Mike Salas
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 2
Not for aggressive chewers
States it's for aggressive chewers, lasted 48 hours. She did enjoy it, but it was short lived.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2026
T
Verified Purchase
Teddi Grady
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Great quality and flavor
Color: 3PC-Bacon-Brown, Pattern Name: Tough Dog Toys
I have two dogs that can chew through everything within a day. Not these, going on four days now, there are signs of wear and tear but still intact. The dogs love the flavor.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2026
H
Verified Purchase
Heidi
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent
Color: 3PC-Bacon-Brown, Pattern Name: Tough Dog Toys
Truly are fantastic! Dogs love these and they last forever
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2026
T
Verified Purchase
Tira
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 5
Dog is Happy!
Color: 3PC-Peanut Butter-Green, Pattern Name: Tough Dog Toys
My dog likes the bones, especially because they are peanut butter-flavored. The bones are very strong and well-made, so they are good for heavy chewers. By the way, these bones are very large for big dogs only!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2026

recommand products