Catalog: The Real McCoy

Flat Hammock Press 5 Church Street Mystic, CT   06355 (860)572-2722 fax(860)572-2755

The Real McCoy
by Frederic Van de Water
Publisher's Foreword by Stephen Jones
$24.00



Hardcover, 248 pages w/  68 photos
ISBN 978-0-9718303-2-5
 

The Rum-Runner turned national hero whose quality liquor and fair dealing perpetuated the phrase "It's the real McCoy"
Six-foot-two with shoulders like a cargo hatch, the enterprising and adventurous Bill McCoy was one of the most celebrated characters
of the Prohibition era.
Those who knew him described him as good looking, courteous, generous, soft spoken, with a charming and ever-ready sense of humor.
They also say that he loved money, good boats and good living.

For four lively years Bill McCoy aboard his iconic schooner was a thorn in the side of the U.S.  Government's effort to enforce the 18th Amendment.  He enraged Prohibition  agents, drove Coast Guard cutter captains to the brink of insanity, distracted the Department of Justice, and prompted the State Department to enter into a special agreement whereby he could finally be apprehended.

Yet in all his dealings McCoy remained personable and trustworthy.  Debts he incurred, whether oral or written, were paid on time and in full.  Friends
whom he made, he kept.  Even the liquor he carried was the best available-"the real McCoy."  Persistently he struck at the law of his country,
but he held to his own not inconsiderable moral code.

When the "sporting nature" went out of the game and rum running became Big Business, Bill McCoy became a rival of both the Government
and organized crime.  When his luck ran out he, without regret, left the game and went on to become a legend.

About the author
Frederic F. Van de Water (1890-1968) was a historian, journalist, critic, editor and author.  He wrote more than 35 books, including mysteries,
novels, biographies, histories, travel writings and essays.  Among these are Glory Hunter: A Life of General Custer (1934) and
In Defense of Worms (1949).

Stephen Jones is the author of more than ten books including The Actual McCoy, an in-depth study of the life
and times of rum-runner Bill McCoy.
 

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