SKU: 95090419781

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

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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
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SKU: 95090419781

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Alice
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 5
Best dog toy!
Color: Multicolor/Alligator & Wild Duck, Size: Medium, Color: Multicolor/Alligator & Wild Duck, Size: Medium
Best dog toy! Most dog toys lady maybe a week or less but this one has been going strong for almost 2 months. Both the squeekers still work on both toys i purchased. My vizsla loves ti squeek and carry it around. We added an empty water bottle in the pocket cavity for some extra fun! Yes, we are still on the same water bottle! Fantastic durability.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2026
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Amy Jo
Lowell, US
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Shows wear quickly
Color: Multicolor/Sheep & Cow, Size: Medium
These are cute but not holding up as well as I had hoped. Quality is ok and the Velcro has held up great. The fabric just isn’t as good as it could be. They are much larger than expected.
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Rachel
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
Super Sturdy with hours of fun.
Color: Wild Duck, Hare, Squirrel & Alligator, Size: Small
I got the small ones that you cannot put a water bottle in. These toys have held up way better than expected. I am dog sitting a very rough with toys dog named Chunk. He tears up ever. Single. Toy my dog (Ted) has. I bought new ones just for chunk. These appealed to me with the no stuffing, They were cheaper, and have a squeaker. Everything chunk needed. They arrived on time and I thought I wasted my money. They were super soft, like too soft. They felt flimsy and weak. Like 5 minutes with chunk and they be dead. 2 hours with my dog and they would have a rip. So far 2 of them (I set two out) have lasted the whole weekend. The bunny looks very rough and disgusting, but no rips, the squeakers still work, and no random fluff everywhere. I am going to wash the bunny once chunk leaves. My very careful doggo Ted loves them too. He throws them up in the air and catches them, plays tug of war with them, and no rips. They are super sturdy. He can’t wait until Chunk leaves (chunk is 2 and Ted is 12-13) so he can play with them.
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Amber B.
Birmingham, US
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Loved it
Color: Brown/Wild Duck, Size: Large, Color: Brown/Wild Duck, Size: Large
He loved it so much, he destroyed it so we ordered another. I didn't realize that you can stick an empty water bottle inside. Again, the first one didn't last long, but he enjoyed it
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Doug Jones
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Very fun interactive toy
Color: Brown/Wild Duck, Size: Medium
This toy is very versatile. There's no stuffing yet it's very soft so it can be used as a tug toy. It also makes for a fun fetch toy because it has a cavity to put a water bottle. It gives your dog something that crinkles and can be pierced when bitten and easily replaced with another empty bottle whenever necessary. That is what really makes this toy the standout of all the ones offered by Best Pet imo. I don't expect this to last forever but once my pup gets bigger we'll probably get the large size for her because there's not too many all in one fetch and tug toys at an affordable price.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2026

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