Seattle Mystic Alfred M. Hubbard: Inventor, Bootlegger and Psychedelic Pioneer Paperback – July 26, 2021

After reading Brad Holden’s previous book about Seattle Prohibition, there was one character that clearly stood out amongst the host of Seattle Bootleggin’ legends: Capt. Al Hubbard. Fromhis mysterious engine trials on Lake Union as a youth, to his founding of what would become local-landmark KOMO, to his playing of both sides of the 30’s Seattle liqueur scene, Al Hubbard was a man that deserved more story-telling. Thankfully, that is what Holden focused on in his sophomore effort “Alfred M. Hubbard: Inventor, Bootlegger, & Psychedelic Pioneer” - and the stories are as crazy and strange as was hinted at in the first book. Holden does a masterful job in narrating Hubbard’s life from one escapade to the next, culminating in a “left-turn” as the “Johnny Appleseed of LSD”. Fun read, never boring, and interesting as hell. Highly recommend!

This book was a lot of fun to read. The story of Al Hubbard is fascinating, whether you're a NW history buff or not. The intermingling of Al's life, prohibition-era Americana, Pacific Northwest history, and early drug experimentation is pure facts-are-stranger-than-fiction gold. Holden's writing is clear and succinct, with just the right amount of artistic flair.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I was going to read one chapter a night but ended up reading the whole book in 2 days. Very well researched and the writing flows really nicely. I also enjoyed the author's first book on Prohibition - I can't wait for his next book.

I’m not usually a non-fiction reader, but this book was fascinating and kept my attention start to finish! I’m surprised I hadn’t heard more about Al Hubbard before reading this- would highly recommend to anyone interested in local history. Props to Brad Holden for bringing such a unique piece of history on this local legend to life!

Fascinating story behind a relatively unknown person. Highly recommended!

On page 29 of this book, the author refers to Hubbard “assembling transistor radios” in his shop, and that “transistor radios were slowly becoming a popular household item” during the time that bootleggers were defying prohibition laws. Since prohibition lasted from 1920 until 1933 in the United States, and the first transistor was produced in 1947, it seems unlikely that Hubbard was working with them in the 1920s. Glaring errors like this make one quite skeptical of the quality of research that went into the writing of this book.

This is a lovingly researched book on a unique historical figure. Al Hubbard was involved in bootlegging, early radio, and psychedelic research. A very nice read.