"Outlaws of the Lakes: Bootlegging and Smuggling from Colonial Times to Prohibition" by Edward Butts

I always love to read up on an area before a trip and, at the recommendation of a friend, I picked up "Outlaws of the Lakes: Bootlegging and Smuggling from Colonial Times to Prohibition" by Edward Butts before our trip through Michigan.  I knew we would be spending a lot of time around Lake Michigan, so this book just felt right.

And it was.

The book is far from being a complete guide to bootlegging and smuggling, but it does tell a nice, easy to understand story about outlaws and smuggling in the vast area of the Great Lakes.

The book starts with Cadillac (the man, not the car) and how a bit of a liar sells himself as something very special.  The author directs the stories of  some of the early shysters in the area working his way up to the gangers of the late 1920s (the book ends with the St. Valentines Day Massacre).  Pirates, timber, the underground railroad and other events relating to the Great Lakes are covered on the way.

The book is over 250 pages, but it is written like a well flowing story, and it is easy to read in no time.  I appreciate how the author makes the characters and events understandable.