Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City
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"Lerner's book is a serious work, suggesting that there are still lessons to be learned from the 13 years, 10 months and 18 days of a utopian American delusion. There remain a number of Americans today who are filled with similar angry visions, longing to make them into law." - Pete Hamill, New York Times Book Review "Dry Manhattan is in all important respects exemplary, a singularly useful and revealing contribution to our understanding of a time from which the nation probably never will recover." - Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World"
Product Description
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol around the country. It was intended to usher in a more healthy, moral, and efficient society. Nowhere was such reform needed more, proponents argued, than in New York City - and nowhere did Prohibition fail more spectacularly. "Dry Manhattan" is the first major work on Prohibition in nearly a quarter century, and the only full history of Prohibition in the era's most vibrant city.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Dry Manhattan" tells you a lot about New York, a little less about Prohibition, and somehow gets the mix right.
The Eighteenth Amendment, if author Michael Lerner's research and interpretations are correct, was birthed by the boozy saloons of New York City's immigrant quarters and foundered upon the same immovable rock of intemperance.
Protestant folks in middle America couldn't abide by the sin-soaked goings-on in the Big Apple and other urban centers. In the end, making something almost everybody approved of a matter of general disapproval did not present the property recipe (if ever one existed).
Lerner dissects William H. Anderson's stealth effort to make alcohol illegal in New York and the lackadaisical response of local politicians and citizens to his ultimately successful campaign.
It is a fatalistic march marked with the same strange inertia that led to other historical debacles like Hitler's rise to power, the South's secession from the union, or George W. Bush.
"Dry Manhattan," is a story about how Manhattan was never dry at all, even when defying the law landed a goodly number of people in jail or ruined lives.
In the end, there was something stuffy, Anglo, and very 19th Century about the Eighteenth Amendment that quickly wore out the efficacy of its most persuasive arguments.
Prohibition didn't make America better. It made it much worse. Especially through illegal mafias that sought to accumulate windfall profits associated with the risk of moving such contraband around.
Crazy innovating entrepreneurs! They're as American as the Martini.
More than anything else, Lerner's book details how the cool crowd (yes, even then) was able to infuse illegal drinking with a cachet all those Mabels and Myrtles from the Women's Christian Temperance Union could never combat.
And most importantly, there was New York and its drinking habit, alone atop the country's media circus. It was not the only place America looked to for pointers on style and novelty, but the dry folks could hardly expect help from the wacky western pole that harbored Hollywood.
"Cosmopolitanism" is what Lerner sees as a key to the Wet counter-reformation on alcohol. And what place was more so than Manhattan?
The book resuscitates the name of New York Governor Al Smith and discusses how his losing campaign for president actually laid the groundwork for a national Democratic coalition that would reign supreme over five decades; on-and-off, and more-or-less.
Non-fiction, foot-noted, and scrupulously researched, "Dry Manhattan" manages to go down pretty easy.
The Eighteenth Amendment, if author Michael Lerner's research and interpretations are correct, was birthed by the boozy saloons of New York City's immigrant quarters and foundered upon the same immovable rock of intemperance.
Protestant folks in middle America couldn't abide by the sin-soaked goings-on in the Big Apple and other urban centers. In the end, making something almost everybody approved of a matter of general disapproval did not present the property recipe (if ever one existed).
Lerner dissects William H. Anderson's stealth effort to make alcohol illegal in New York and the lackadaisical response of local politicians and citizens to his ultimately successful campaign.
It is a fatalistic march marked with the same strange inertia that led to other historical debacles like Hitler's rise to power, the South's secession from the union, or George W. Bush.
"Dry Manhattan," is a story about how Manhattan was never dry at all, even when defying the law landed a goodly number of people in jail or ruined lives.
In the end, there was something stuffy, Anglo, and very 19th Century about the Eighteenth Amendment that quickly wore out the efficacy of its most persuasive arguments.
Prohibition didn't make America better. It made it much worse. Especially through illegal mafias that sought to accumulate windfall profits associated with the risk of moving such contraband around.
Crazy innovating entrepreneurs! They're as American as the Martini.
More than anything else, Lerner's book details how the cool crowd (yes, even then) was able to infuse illegal drinking with a cachet all those Mabels and Myrtles from the Women's Christian Temperance Union could never combat.
And most importantly, there was New York and its drinking habit, alone atop the country's media circus. It was not the only place America looked to for pointers on style and novelty, but the dry folks could hardly expect help from the wacky western pole that harbored Hollywood.
"Cosmopolitanism" is what Lerner sees as a key to the Wet counter-reformation on alcohol. And what place was more so than Manhattan?
The book resuscitates the name of New York Governor Al Smith and discusses how his losing campaign for president actually laid the groundwork for a national Democratic coalition that would reign supreme over five decades; on-and-off, and more-or-less.
Non-fiction, foot-noted, and scrupulously researched, "Dry Manhattan" manages to go down pretty easy.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating and informative -- definitely worth a read.
21 April 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Lerner's fascinating book brings the period of prohibition to life -- from the early days of temperance campaigning, to prohibition's final undoing more than a decade later. Stories of individual people on all sides of the issue bring the book to life, making the it fun to read. And Lerner doesn't try to draw parallels to present day politics -- he lets you do that for yourself.
In an engaging, well-flowing narrative, Lerner covers prohibition from beginning to end, focusing on New York City. It was there that the dry campaign won an improbable victory, deftly manipulating the political system to secure a ratification that was not supported by popular opinion. Lerner describes a series of failed efforts to enforce prohibition in New York City. He shows how bigotry against immigrant groups was used to maintain support for prohibition. He chronicles a political climate in which anti-prohibition politicians were effectively silenced by prohibition advocates. And most interestingly, Lerner describes the role that women played in ultimately bringing prohibition to an end.
The book is meticulously researched (and heavily footnoted), but does not have the dry, academic feel of many history texts. Instead, Lerner enlivens the pages with anecdotes from prohibition agents, bartenders, managers of speakeasies, "jazz age" journalists, and New Yorkers of all social statuses.
If you read the footnotes, you will see that he draws these vignettes from an incredible variety of primary sources -- police records, notes of prohibition campaigners, newspapers and magazines of the day, court records and more. The effect is a rich tapestry of personal stories -- one that flows with his narrative and truly reflects the diversity of New York city.
Lerner wisely avoids drawing comparison to current-day politics. Instead, he leaves it to you to connect the dots. There are powerful lessons about how our political system can be manipulated, and how attempts to legislate morality in a democracy are misguided. But he leaves these conclusions for you to make.
Fascinating and informative -- definitely worth a read.
In an engaging, well-flowing narrative, Lerner covers prohibition from beginning to end, focusing on New York City. It was there that the dry campaign won an improbable victory, deftly manipulating the political system to secure a ratification that was not supported by popular opinion. Lerner describes a series of failed efforts to enforce prohibition in New York City. He shows how bigotry against immigrant groups was used to maintain support for prohibition. He chronicles a political climate in which anti-prohibition politicians were effectively silenced by prohibition advocates. And most interestingly, Lerner describes the role that women played in ultimately bringing prohibition to an end.
The book is meticulously researched (and heavily footnoted), but does not have the dry, academic feel of many history texts. Instead, Lerner enlivens the pages with anecdotes from prohibition agents, bartenders, managers of speakeasies, "jazz age" journalists, and New Yorkers of all social statuses.
If you read the footnotes, you will see that he draws these vignettes from an incredible variety of primary sources -- police records, notes of prohibition campaigners, newspapers and magazines of the day, court records and more. The effect is a rich tapestry of personal stories -- one that flows with his narrative and truly reflects the diversity of New York city.
Lerner wisely avoids drawing comparison to current-day politics. Instead, he leaves it to you to connect the dots. There are powerful lessons about how our political system can be manipulated, and how attempts to legislate morality in a democracy are misguided. But he leaves these conclusions for you to make.
Fascinating and informative -- definitely worth a read.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Good read with interesting political insight
18 Sep 2009
Format:Hardcover
This is a well-narrated account of the era that delves deeply into the dynamics of the city, while connecting it to the broader social and political scene of the times. The book often focuses on the failings and discontent with the prohibition movement, giving a much richer perspective of why it failed. This coupled with the political details and stories of corruption made implications on the problems of dictating social choice, leaving the reader with much to think about.
I do not generally read much non-fiction, so at times I found a few spots a little dry, but overall the inclusion of lively anecdotes and keen insights made it an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in the subject.
I do not generally read much non-fiction, so at times I found a few spots a little dry, but overall the inclusion of lively anecdotes and keen insights made it an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in the subject.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Enjoyable, informative and comprehensive
26 Feb 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had been looking for a book that told the story of Prohibition and Repeal. At first, I was concerned that the focus on the experience in NYC would not give me a good feel for how the Great Experiment played out nationally but that very focus made the politic clashes, moral arguments, failures of enforcement and gradual consensus about the need to repeal prohibition become more real by showing how the experience in NYC was central to attitudes that came to drive the national debate (even the most ardent Prohibitionists in the south and mid-west realized that they had to make Prohibition work in NYC if it was to be preserved nationally).
The book is clearly an adapted version of a doctoral thesis though the writing is non-technical and the story compelling, with the range of reactions to Prohibition fully captured by Mr. Lerner's focus on some very interesting people, organizations and social groups. The book may be slightly more interesting for the history buff (full disclosure, that's me) than the general reader but even a general reader will come away with an enjoyable and well-written account of a fascinating period in American history.
The book is clearly an adapted version of a doctoral thesis though the writing is non-technical and the story compelling, with the range of reactions to Prohibition fully captured by Mr. Lerner's focus on some very interesting people, organizations and social groups. The book may be slightly more interesting for the history buff (full disclosure, that's me) than the general reader but even a general reader will come away with an enjoyable and well-written account of a fascinating period in American history.
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