TV/Book: Prohibition Comes to HBO & PBS

[Frank W. Baker]

Mark your calendars: HBO premieres "Boardwalk Empire," a 12-part mini-series, starting September 19. According to The New York Times, the "drama series, based on actual events, takes place in the 1920's and uses Atlantic City as a microcosm of how profoundly the US was changed by Prohibition." Specifics are on the HBO website for the series.  Meantime, PBS and Ken Burns will bring prohibition to viewers next year (December 2011) in a six-part series. It is based on the just-released book by Daniel Okrent: Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.