Author Talk - "Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren't"

Please join us at Arlington Central Library on Thursday, June 9, 7:00 p.m., for an entertaining author talk with Arlington resident Garrett Peck, author of Prohibition in Washington, D.C.: How Dry We Weren't, on how the "noble experiment" unraveled in the nation's capital. 

In 1929, it was estimated that every week bootleggers brought 22,000 gallons of whiskey, moonshine and other spirits into Washington, DC's 3,000 speakeasies. H.L. Mencken called Prohibition the "Thirteen Awful Years," though it was sixteen for the District. Nevertheless, the bathtub gin-swilling capital dwellers made the most of it. Author Garrett Peck crafts a rollicking history brimming with stories of vice and garnished with a walking tour of former speakeasies. Join Peck as he explores an underground city ruled not by organized crime, but by amateur bootleggers, where publicly teetotaling congressmen could get a stiff drink behind House office doors and the African American community was humming with a new sound called jazz. The book includes 80 historic and modern images, 11 vintage cocktail recipes, and 5 neighborhood maps for exploring where the mayhem took place. 

Books will be available for sale and signature by the author. You can also find this event on the Arlington County Library website, as well as on Facebook. Arlington Central Library is located at 1015 N. Quincy Street in Arlington, Virginia, close to the Virginia Square and Ballston Metro stations. Parking is also available. 

Garrett Peck (www.garrettpeck.com) is a self-described history dork and the author of The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet. He leads the Temperance Tour of Prohibition-related sites in the nation's capital. Prohibition in Washington, D.C.: How Dry We Weren't is his second book.