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More Information...
Publisher: Reedy Press, 2008.
Soft Cover, 416 pages, 6x9.
Item #1589
Normally, books devoted to the many aspects and stories of National Prohibition are just beyond the scope of BeerBooks.com. But Wetter Than The Mississippi is different. With the enormous role that the St. Louis breweries played in that city's fight against "the drys" during the 1910s, 20s and 30s, they are unavoidably central characters in this book. The Busches (Anheuser-Busch), the Lemps, the Griesediecks and many of the city's other brewers are well represented in this fantastic history of Prohibition in St. Louis. Includes a preface by Tom Schlafly, co-founder of the Saint Louis Brewery.
From the publisher:
Ever wish you could be a fly on the wall during prohibition days? A guided tour awaits the reader in Wetter than the Mississippi: Prohibition in St. Louis and Beyond, published by Reedy Press. Old newspaper stories and oral history accounts bring to life this fascinating period, when the St. Louis area was awash in saloons and scandals. Author Robbi Courtaway has uncorked vintage reserves of anecdotal stories and lively narratives that focus on the greater St. Louis area, and span a 150-mile radius into Missouri and Illinois: Boonville, Jefferson City and Cape Girardeau, Mo., to Nauvoo, Decatur, Springfield, and deep southern Illinois. A double-length chapter at the center of the book details the 1920s-era gangs who specialized in bootleg booze and bloodshed in St. Louis and southern and central Illinois. Also featured are the brewing and wine industries, law enforcement, elected officials, the Ku Klux Klan, home brewers and amateur bootleggers, nightspots around town, a failed whiskey-siphoning scheme, a high-profile beer protection scandal, historical background of prohibition and more.
About the Author
A community journalist for more than two decades, Robbi Courtaway professes a special fondness for topics involving local and regional history. She is the author of two previous books related to St. Louis.
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