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About This Book
Grandpa Snake made illegal moonshine whiskey in the Appalachian Mountains a century ago. His life was forged in a blazing hot furnace fired with black coal, then beaten into shape on the cold, hard anvil of Prohibition. Criminalizing whiskey promised to rid the country of sin, but instead it criminalized the innocent and the greedy alike.
For hundreds of years, farmers had made whiskey with their extra corn. Generation after generation. As long as anybody could remember. It was a dangerous process, but the whisky sold for twice the price of corn and would not rot like corn if they couldn't get it to market quickly. But after Prohibition began, the price of corn whisky rocketed to ten times the price of corn. And then, zoomed to twenty. Great profits were to come to those who saw what was coming. Grandpa Snake became one of those. He was an entrepreneur, a distillation expert, a criminal. Loved by many. Wanted by the Sheriff.
After the turn of the last century, the world was changing so fast people could not keep up. Some called it progress. Others got lost. Both cocaine and gasoline were sold at the local pharmacy, without a prescription. But roads were terrible and travel on them nearly impossible. Women wanted to vote and have equality. For that privilege, their blood was spilled on the streets of cities all over the nation. The virgin forests of West Virginia had been clear-cut. Railroads were built to carry out the logs and then to carry out the coal. They also carried in a great rush of people to take the high-paying jobs in the mines. But the mines' working conditions were terrible. The unions wanted to organize the miners and improve working conditions. But, the mine owners hired 'detectives' to keep the organizers out by whatever means necessary. Human life was cheap and violence was common. All these radically changed America and West Virginia, but none were as important to Grandpa Snake as Prohibition.
This novel is a fictionalized account of the life of the author's grandfather, based on stories handed down from a century ago. Most of the events are believed to be true, although some of the details may be fiction. Some of the events are probably true, but the details are not. Some of the events are a complete fabrication, but typical of the era. Great effort has been made to maximize the authenticity of this novel, but in the end, it is historical fiction.
For hundreds of years, farmers had made whiskey with their extra corn. Generation after generation. As long as anybody could remember. It was a dangerous process, but the whisky sold for twice the price of corn and would not rot like corn if they couldn't get it to market quickly. But after Prohibition began, the price of corn whisky rocketed to ten times the price of corn. And then, zoomed to twenty. Great profits were to come to those who saw what was coming. Grandpa Snake became one of those. He was an entrepreneur, a distillation expert, a criminal. Loved by many. Wanted by the Sheriff.
After the turn of the last century, the world was changing so fast people could not keep up. Some called it progress. Others got lost. Both cocaine and gasoline were sold at the local pharmacy, without a prescription. But roads were terrible and travel on them nearly impossible. Women wanted to vote and have equality. For that privilege, their blood was spilled on the streets of cities all over the nation. The virgin forests of West Virginia had been clear-cut. Railroads were built to carry out the logs and then to carry out the coal. They also carried in a great rush of people to take the high-paying jobs in the mines. But the mines' working conditions were terrible. The unions wanted to organize the miners and improve working conditions. But, the mine owners hired 'detectives' to keep the organizers out by whatever means necessary. Human life was cheap and violence was common. All these radically changed America and West Virginia, but none were as important to Grandpa Snake as Prohibition.
This novel is a fictionalized account of the life of the author's grandfather, based on stories handed down from a century ago. Most of the events are believed to be true, although some of the details may be fiction. Some of the events are probably true, but the details are not. Some of the events are a complete fabrication, but typical of the era. Great effort has been made to maximize the authenticity of this novel, but in the end, it is historical fiction.