The Great Bonacker Whisky War; An Entertainment

[8], 212, [4] pages. The dust jacket is worn, torn, soiled and chipped. A fast-paced comedic adventure novel. The novel is described as a lively, amorous, and exciting caper. It follows a young protagonist who gets caught up in the chaotic and dangerous world of coastal bootlegging. Ralph Liston Maloney (1927-1973) was an American novelist and short story writer best known for his satirical look at the 1960s and 1970s corporate world and suburban life. Maloney was an active member of the Authors Guild and the Mystery Writers of America. He published short stories in periodicals such as The Atlantic Monthly and penned documentary film scripts for television. He wrote both under his own name and the pseudonym Jack Liston. He was the author of several well received books, including, in 1972, "The Nixon Recession Caper," the story of four exurbanites in need of money who join forces to rob a bank. Another was "The 24 Hour Drink Book," characterized in The New York Times Book Review as "a ruthless little masterpiece." It portrays the drinking executive's relationship with his family, his secretary, his boss and his fellows in the corporate hierarchy. He wrote "Daily Bread," about life in a public relations concern, and "The Great Bonacker Whisky War," a book about rum running, hijacking, drinking, murder, sex and boats on Long Island Sound. Mr. Maloney was a 1951 graduate of Harvard, served in the Merchant Marine in World War II and as an Army first lieutenant in the Korean was era. His literary manuscripts are preserved in the Ralph Maloney Collection at Bowling Green State University. Derived from a Kirkus review: A comedy about Prohibition rumrunners on Long Island, Rebellion has one of the funniest opening chapters of the year. A Coast Guard cutter chasing three yachts toward East End harbor starts to fire its cannon "over the bow" of the nearest boat. Instead, it blows the forepeak clean away and the Wally II "went under without preface or argument, as though grabbed by a great undersea hand." However, several cases of whisky come rising into the current and one is rescued and hidden on shore by a pixilated captain named Bailey Miller. This sets the tenor for the story of Bailey's being taken under the thumb of some Irish mobsters who need the use of Bailey's boat, the fastest ship in Bonack bay. When Bailey can't escape their hold on him, he pretends to go along with their plan to round up a fleet of local ships. A quarter-million in booze is arriving from England and has to be delivered to trucks on shore. Bailey's eventual foiling of the criminals' plans leads to a fast, amusing climax. These are merry shenanigans. First Edition [stated] Presumed first printing.…