Modern Moonshine: The Revival of White Whiskey in the Twenty-First Century

The volume Modern Moonshine: The Revival of White Whiskey in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Cameron D. Lippard and Bruce E. Stewart, examines moonshine as a regionalized, yet national, cultural phenomenon. While a collection based strictly on moonshine research might strike one as limited in scope, the book instead offers an example of the comparative insight that can be gained from applying multiple perspectives to one cultural object. The volume’s contributors come from the disciplines of criminology, geography, (public) history, historic preservation, media studies, and sociology. As a whole, the text offers unique insight into the topics of stereotypes, identity, and the influence of social structure on situated action and sense of place. Stewart’s chapter on the history of moonshining in southern Appalachia sets the stage for Daniel Pierce (Chapter 2); Emily Edwards (Chapter 3); Kaitland Byrd, J. Slade Lellock, and Nathaniel Chapman (Chapter 6); Jason Ezell (Chapter 7); Lippard (Chapter 8); and Helen Rosko (Chapter 9), who also examine the creation, perpetuation, and influence of stereotypes surrounding moonshine and moonshiners. These authors explain the complexity of the consequences of stereotypes in the moonshining business and the revival of legal moonshine. First, the stereotypes of dangerous tricksters and backward hillbillies can create very real and harmful effects, particularly when used to justify why residents of Appalachia need the influence of and control by corporations and the government (see, e.g., Stewart). These stereotypes perpetuate a negative othering of the region. Second, these stereotypes have also been used by the moonshiners themselves to further their celebrity and personal branding, increasing their success—although, this, too, can backfire and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. An example is the case of ‘‘Popcorn’’ Sutton, discussed by multiple authors (e.g., Pierce, Edwards), in which the hyper-independent trickster acts out the harmful habits of the stereotype, leading to their demise by their own hand. Together, the chapters help to demonstrate the moonshiner as a form of controlling image, in which both individuals and communities respond to these stereotypes, whether working with or against them, for the continuance of a way of life, to support the welfare of their family or community, and for self-sufficiency (see, e.g., Lippard, Rosko). Findings related to individuals and communities working with or against controlling images helps to lead into the second topic— identity. We see themes of identity explored at different social levels. For instance, Edwards examines the construction of characters such as the archetype of the ‘‘trickster’’ by the media, further delving into how stereotypes are created, while Pierce examines how such representations both influence and are influenced by individuals’ identity construction through a case study of Jim Tom Hedrick and Popcorn Sutton. Pierce’s work creates connections between such archetypes and individual identities by examining how Hedrick and Sutton’s construction of a ‘‘character’’ they performed for publicity influenced the construction of the postmodern moonshiner. Alternatively, Robert Perdue (Chapter 4) uses a social deviance approach to examine a changing regional identity based in the influence of moonshine, including how legal regulation can create obstacles to maintaining a healthy economy and regional identity. We can see these interconnections in Lippard’s work, as he uses the Call family tradition of moonshining in Wilkes County, North Carolina to reveal how stigma and misconceived stereotypes can be contested when Reviews 379