Although the complete ban on the right to buy or sell alcoholic drink that began on 17 January 1920 was instigated to 'do America good', in effect it had the opposite result. Many Americans distilled moonshine from toxic substances in their baths, drank in speakeasies and smuggled illegal liquor. As the BBC 2 television series, on which this book is based, so eloquently showed, Prohibition bred corruption at all government and police levels, and turned Al Capone into Chicago's uncrowned king. Never has such a well-meaning measure provoked such crime and suffering. The Temperance lobbies and Anti-Saloon League had their way for over thirteen years: years which created deep intolerances, transformed the nation's morals and spread bribery, violence, cynicism and immorality from the gangsters of underworld to the highest office in the land. In his fascinating account of how Prohibition shaped modern-day America, Edward Behr recounts many shocking and compelling stories, including that of Geroge Remus, America's most successful bootlegger, who killed his wife, but still became a national hero.