Kentucky Moonshine

Rating:
Summary: kentucky moonshine is a useful historical work
Review: I read this book in college for kicks and it opened my eyes about many things. Moonshiners were not just crusty old mountaineers who wanted to get drunk and have a good time. This book explains how the social and economic aspects of an agrarian sub-culture led to an era of Americana that has been immortalized by icons like the Hatfield/McCoy feud, Snuffy Smith, and characters from "The Andy Griffith Show". Maurer shows how a seemingly innocuous pasttime like making illicit liguor grew from an immigrant tradition to the sport of NASCAR. Anecdotes, pictures, illustrations, and testimony brings it all together. A good read for anyone intersted in a often misunderstood piece of American history.