Moonshine
A Life in Pursuit of White Liquor
It’s impossible to read Alec Wilkinson’s Moonshine without feeling the magnetic draw of its star figure, state revenue agent Garland Bunting. Wilkinson’s short profile, reprinted for a new generation of readers, follows Bunting and other charismatic agents through the hills and hollers of North Carolina as they search for illegal whiskey stills and their slick, wary proprietors.
This collection of high-grade “slice of life” reportage is structured around short, punchy anecdotes and secondhand legends. As the “Yankee” outsider, Wilkinson foregoes standard exposition and lets his subjects’ language and quirks take the fore. He relates how the potbellied, middle-aged veteran Bunting talks, sings, acts, dances, and weasels his way out of deadly situations using only charm and confidence. Characters trade “big fish” stories of busted whiskey stills and outrageous stakeouts and go about their deadly work with cool nonchalance. While these outlaw bootleggers make for interesting studies, it’s the men who dedicate their lives to catching them who serve as the book’s most interesting characters.
Those unfamiliar with bootlegging may be surprised by how Moonshine hits them. It’s an intoxicating portrait of the rural American South in all of its charm, danger, desperation, and color.
Reviewed by
Isaac Randel
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
