Dying for a Drink

style=&quote;text-align: center;&quote;><strong>AS SEEN ON TV ONTARIO'S <em>THE AGENDA WITH STEVE PAIKIN</em></strong></p>style=&quote;text-align: center;&quote;><strong>FINALIST FOR THE 2019 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST NON-FICTION CRIME BOOK</strong></p>Known to history as &quote;The Fighting Parson,&quote; Reverend J.O.L. Spracklin broke into a notorious Windsor roadhouse one chilly November night in 1920 and shot and killed barkeep Beverly &quote;Babe&quote; Trumble. Easily acquitted by reason of self-defense, he never served a day of time. A provincial liquor license inspector already known for his brash tactics, Spracklin's audacious tactics solidified across North America the Detroit-Windsor borderlands' reputation as the new Wild West-an uncivilized outpost where whisky flowed freely, warrants were forged on the spot, and ministers toted guns to keep the peace.</p><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><div class=&quote;vt-tab-content&quote;><div class=&quote;tab-container&quote;><div id=&quote;tab-1&quote; class=&quote;tab-content current&quote;><span style=&quote;font-weight: 400;&quote;>To the rest of Ontario, a dry province, Spracklin was the saviour they'd been waiting for, the answer to the lawlessness of the Border Cities-that is, until he shot a man at point blank range. In this exploration of the period, decorated Ontario historian Patrick Brode unpacks this infamous piece of Prohibition lore and asks: Why did Babe Trumble die? What led to a hotheaded reverend taking the law into his own hands, killing a man, and getting away with it? Full of fire-and-brimstone preachers, crooked politicians, wily rum runners, grandstanding lawyers, and innocents caught in the crossfire, </span><em><span style=&quote;font-weight: 400;&quote;>Dying for a Drink</span></em><span style=&quote;font-weight: 400;&quote;> is a fascinating read that will captivate anyone interested in the real stories behind this fabled time.</span></div>