Join VMHC Education in an evening book club conversation about The Wettest County in the World, based on the true story of author Matt Bondurant’s grandfather and two granduncles.
About the Book: The Bondurant Boys were a notorious gang of roughnecks and moonshiners who ran liquor through Franklin County, Virginia, during Prohibition and in the years after. Howard, the eldest brother, is an ox of a man besieged by the horrors he witnessed in the Great War; Forrest, the middle brother, is fierce, mythically indestructible, and the consummate businessman; and Jack, the youngest, has a taste for luxury and a dream to get out of Franklin. Driven and haunted, these men forge a business, fall in love, and struggle to stay afloat as they watch their family die, their father's business fail, and the world they know crumble beneath the Depression and drought.
White mule, white lightning, firewater, popskull, wild cat, stump whiskey, or rotgut—whatever you called it, Franklin County was awash in moonshine in the 1920s. When Sherwood Anderson, the journalist and author of Winesburg, Ohio, was covering a story there, he christened it the “wettest county in the world.” In the twilight of his career, Anderson finds himself driving along dusty red roads trying to find the Bondurant brothers, piece together the clues linking them to “The Great Franklin County Moonshine Conspiracy,” and break open the silence that shrouds Franklin County.
FAQs:
Do I need to read the book before book club?
We strongly recommend reading the book (at least partially) before the book club, so that you can participate in the discussion – and so the details won’t be spoiled!
Where can I buy the book?
You can purchase the book online, in a local bookstore, or borrow it from your local library!
Where does the event take place?
This event will take place virtually on Zoom.
This program is free, but registration is required.