On January 17, 1920, America went completely dry. The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution had been ratified a year earlier, prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” in the United States and its territories. This began the Prohibition Era, a 14-year period of lawbreaking unlike any other in our country's history, fueled by bootleggers, gangs, easy language and mobs. The 18th Amendment was a rarity in that it limited the rights of the individual rather than the activities of the government, thus ensuring unfavorable reception and reaction. "Last Call" The Rise and Fall of Prohibition was written by Daniel Okrent and published in May 2010 and is a historical explanation of the Prohibition era. Prohibition through the 18th Amendment has the distinction of being the only constitutional amendment ever repealed. This fact leads us to ask: how could all this happen? Why should Americans sacrifice their precious right to drink? “Last Call” provides the answers and explanations to these two questions and the historical perspective on the Prohibition era. Daniel Okrent, author of four other books and the first public editor of the New York Times, sees Prohibition as a clash in a larger war waged by small-town white Protestants who felt overwhelmed by the forces of change sweeping through their nation. . Explain that this is a theory first proposed by historian Richard Hofstadter more than fifty years ago. Although many books and historical accounts have been written about Prohibition since then, Okrent offers an original account, showing how its supporters combined the nativist fears of many Americans with legitimate concerns about... the medium of paper.... . .years ago now we actually lowered the amount of Americans who drank regularly. Something that would have been nice to read about, but was left out of the book, was whether or not certain social classes were targeted more heavily by Prohibition. It would have been interesting to see how the restrictions and enforcement of the upper classes differed from those of the lower classes. Overall I liked the book because it was written in an easily understandable way that still captured the important points of the Prohibition era. “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” by Daniel Okrent is a book I would recommend to anyone looking to learn more about one of our country's most politically corrupt eras. I hate to say it, but if someone suddenly took alcohol out of a law-abiding society, I'd probably find myself part of a local speakeasy too. 1920.