Rate this book

Chasing The White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw's Adventures In Moonshine (2010)

by Max Watman(Favorite Author)
3.51 of 5 Votes: 3
ISBN
1416571787 (ISBN13: 9781416571780)
languge
English
publisher
Simon & Schuster
review 1: Chasing the White Dog by Max Watman is more a tale of one person's journey to find the truth about moonshining than the history of moonshine. Watman does dive into the history of whiskey and why moonshining began by discussing the events leading up to the Whiskey Rebellion, but I was expecting more history here, probably because the book was located in the history section at Borders. Either way Watman does a great job in telling his accounts of attempting to make moonshine himself. His prose is fantastic during the chapters explaining his trials with making moonshine that are interjected through his story of finding current moonshiners in the south west Virginia back country. His last chapters deal with the trial of Duck Smith, a moonshiner, and while I thought that these ... morefinal chapters would drag (as they were mainly trial details) they actually were engaging.
review 2: I really did enjoy this book and it's right on the line for me between a 3 and a four. It really explores all possibilites of moonshine, making it making it legally as a micro distillery, making it really illeagally in the back woods, the culture and law enforcement that go along with that and the history of moonshine in America. I love the author's voice and the way he describes how he imagines things versus how they are how he wants to be vs how he knows he is. It's really easy to laugh at and relate too. The thing that got me though is that I couldn't keep track of all the stories so it took a while to get into and then when a person would reappear later in the book I could never remember who they were. It was obviously clear to the author who has a real passion but I got lost sometimes or was waiting for a story to come back that never did. less
Reviews (see all)
snowman
topical, loose survey of Moonshine peppered w/ historical narratives and personal anectedotes.
Rach
Confession: I only got 60 pages in. The guy's writing just couldn't hold my attention.
jame
I now understand the connection between prohibition and nascar. fascinating.
Nadja_Sunlight
So far pretty good read -about Moonshining.
Write review
Review will shown on site after approval.
(Review will shown on site after approval)