by Alec Wilkinson
The subtitle of this marvelously entertaining book is A Life in Pursuit of White Liquor. It begins, "For more than thirty years Garland Bunting has been engaged in capturing people in North Carolina who make and sell liquor illegally." The author, a magazine writer from New York, visited Garland several times and accompanied him on raids and coon hunts. As Garland admits, "I long ago reached the conclusion that I was unusual." Garland, 57, is a talker, a singer and a dancer who can improvise cunningly on the spur of the moment, if it will disarm a wily moonshiner. A lawyer who admires Garland for his ability as a witness in court says, "I'd rather sit back and listen to Garland talk than go to the bank." And a friend sums him up thus: "Garland made the old feel young and the poor feel rich." Wilkinson, author of Midnights, a book describing his year with the Wellfleet, Mass. police department, displays just the right touch for portraying an outrageous character like Garland. The reader turns the last page with regret because the brief time spent with these amazing people is gone. (Knopf, $13.95)
Your Reaction
