Lisa Lindquist Dorr tells the story of the vast smuggling network
that brought high-end distilled spirits and, eventually, other
cargoes (including undocumented immigrants) from Great Britain and
Europe through Cuba to the United States between 1920 and the end
of Prohibition. Because of their proximity to liquor-exporting
islands, the numerous beaches along the southern coast presented
ideal landing points for smugglers and distribution points for
their supply networks. From the warehouses of liquor wholesalers in
Havana to the decks of rum runners to transportation networks
heading northward, Dorr explores these operations, from the people
who ran the trade to the determined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard
and other law enforcement agencies to stop liquor traffic on the
high seas, in Cuba, and in southern communities. In the process,
she shows the role smuggling played in creating a more
transnational, enterprising, and modern South.