Moonshiners and Prohibitionists

Stewart addresses major economic, social, and cultural questions that are central to our understanding of the history of Appalachia."" - Gordon B. McKinney, author of Southern Mountain Republicans, 1865-1900

""Stewart uses the alcohol debate in southern Appalachia to add fresh insights into the understanding of southern history and expand the breadth of alcohol studies research.""- Choice

""Stewart offers readers a unique perspective on the consequences of Appalachia's political, economic, and social transformation during the 19th century and its impact on the communities and residents of western North Carolina."" - Appalachian Journal

""Though many historians have emphasized the role that outsiders played in developing popular Appalachian stereotypes, Stewart reveals that early anti-liquor crusaders in the region's towns contributed their share as well.""- West Virginia History

""Stewart tracks important shifts in popular sentiment, politics, and laws about making and drinking alcohol from the early 1800s to the early 1900s."" - Now and Then

""The author contends that distillers played a vital economic role in the isolated mountain communities. It was this geographical isolation that made moonshining profitable...Stewart does a fine job of telling his story."" - The North Carolina Historical Review

""This insightful book is certain to serve as a model for future studies on the antiliquor movement."" - The Journal of American History

""A fresh and insightful study that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Appalachian South, the antebellum and post-bellum temperance movements, and the wider South. This fascinating work will certainly generate lively discussions."" - Journal of East Tennessee History

""In this masterly study Bruce E. Stewart explains a facet of the antiliquor crusade that scholars have ignored, namely, the changing perception people had of alcohol distillers: from manufacturers of a legitimate product to impediments to economic and social progress."" - Journal of American History

""Sheds light on a region and a topic that have been egregiously under-examined. Regional studies such as his offer a more nuanced understanding of the historical liquor question in modern America."" - American Historical Review

""Perhaps the greatest achievement of Moonshiners and Prohibitionists is that it wrestles with the topic of moonshine as a serious academic subject."" - Gastronomica

""Moonshiners and Prohibitionists is a much-needed contribution to our understanding of the complex social, economic, religious, and cultural issues underlying the prohibition impulse that swept the South between 1880 and 1920."" - Journal of Southern History