Moonshine: A Life in Pursuit of White Liquor

Moonshine: A Life in Pursuit of White Liquor

Rating

8.5

The Pequod Review:

Alec Wilkinson's Moonshine is a profile of Garland Bunting, an eccentric backcountry genius who chases down illegal producers of alcohol on behalf of the Alcoholic Beverage Control department in Halifax County, North Carolina. Originally an essay in The New Yorker, this work of narrative non-fiction is one of the best of its kind — informative (on the history of bootlegging, the terminology of the trade, and how Bunting carries out his duties) and full of entertaining stories and real narrative tension.