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Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History
In the summer of 1987, Johnny Boone set out to grow and harvest one of the greatest outdoor marijuana crops in modern times. In doing so, he set into motion a series of events that defined him and his associates as the largest homegrown marijuana syndicate in American history, also known as the Cornbread Mafia.
Author James Higdon—whose relationship with Johnny Boone, currently a federal fugitive, made him the first journalist subpoenaed under the Obama administration—takes readers back to the 1970s and ’80s and the clash between federal and local law enforcement and a band of Kentucky farmers with moonshine and pride in their bloodlines. By 1989 the task force assigned to take down men like Johnny Boone had arrested sixty-nine men and one woman from busts on twenty-nine farms in ten states, and seized two hundred tons of pot. Of the seventy individuals arrested, zero talked. How it all went down is a tale of Mafia-style storylines emanating from the Bluegrass State, and populated by Vietnam veterans and weed-loving characters caught up in Tarantino-level violence and heart-breaking altruism.
Accompanied by a soundtrack of rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues, this work of dogged investigative journalism and history is told by Higdon in action-packed, colorful and riveting detail.
Author James Higdon—whose relationship with Johnny Boone, currently a federal fugitive, made him the first journalist subpoenaed under the Obama administration—takes readers back to the 1970s and ’80s and the clash between federal and local law enforcement and a band of Kentucky farmers with moonshine and pride in their bloodlines. By 1989 the task force assigned to take down men like Johnny Boone had arrested sixty-nine men and one woman from busts on twenty-nine farms in ten states, and seized two hundred tons of pot. Of the seventy individuals arrested, zero talked. How it all went down is a tale of Mafia-style storylines emanating from the Bluegrass State, and populated by Vietnam veterans and weed-loving characters caught up in Tarantino-level violence and heart-breaking altruism.
Accompanied by a soundtrack of rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues, this work of dogged investigative journalism and history is told by Higdon in action-packed, colorful and riveting detail.
411 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
367 people are currently reading
1460 people want to read
About the author
James Higdon
5 books14 followersJames Higdon is a graduate of St. Augustine School, Marion County High School, Centre College, Brown University's MFA writing program, and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
His first book, The Cornbread Mafia, was published in hardcover in 2012, in paperback in 2013, and in revised paperback in 2019. His second book, The Nearly Forgotten History of Portland, Kentucky, was published in 2018.
He is currently co-founder and chief communications officer for Cornbread Hemp, a CBD brand that offers USDA organic CBD products from Kentucky.
His first book, The Cornbread Mafia, was published in hardcover in 2012, in paperback in 2013, and in revised paperback in 2019. His second book, The Nearly Forgotten History of Portland, Kentucky, was published in 2018.
He is currently co-founder and chief communications officer for Cornbread Hemp, a CBD brand that offers USDA organic CBD products from Kentucky.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
January 19, 2013
What a disappointment. What is certainly a fascinating story is all but ruined by an author who did not have the skill set to pull it off. This book literally needed to have around 200 pages removed to make it coherent. Instead it is a repetitive and rambling attempt at telling a story. Incredibly if you read the very long prologue at the beginning of the book it is a summary of almost exactly what is in the next several hundred pages and gives every interesting aspect of the story say. Pretty much proves this entire story could have been told in a long magazine article rather than an almost 400 page book.
April 29, 2013
The biggest problem with this book is that the writer is clearly biased. The second is the inclusion of extraneous detail and a complicated writing style that makes the story difficult to follow.
As a journalist I would have expected more from the author than the bias for a convicted drug grower that escalates in the final chapter to an all out defense of the man even though there is no doubt that he continually defied the government and raised huge amounts of marijuana, threatened others and put others in jeopardy. The characters he writes about are not choir boys even though he portrays them as such at times. I felt deceived because he sets up the story as if he is giving full facts but in the final chapter I find out they are largely from the perspective of the "Cornbread Mafia" members. The author clearly has not given an objective report of the story.
Secondly, the beginning chapters of the book are largely dry and a little boring with an excess of detail about people and side-stories that don't fully relate to the purpose. The details go back in forth in time and the stories intertwine until they are hard to keep straight.
In short, I wasn't impressed with the writing style. But I do give the author credit for some intense and brave research and for writing about a place, time and people whose story had not been told.
As a journalist I would have expected more from the author than the bias for a convicted drug grower that escalates in the final chapter to an all out defense of the man even though there is no doubt that he continually defied the government and raised huge amounts of marijuana, threatened others and put others in jeopardy. The characters he writes about are not choir boys even though he portrays them as such at times. I felt deceived because he sets up the story as if he is giving full facts but in the final chapter I find out they are largely from the perspective of the "Cornbread Mafia" members. The author clearly has not given an objective report of the story.
Secondly, the beginning chapters of the book are largely dry and a little boring with an excess of detail about people and side-stories that don't fully relate to the purpose. The details go back in forth in time and the stories intertwine until they are hard to keep straight.
In short, I wasn't impressed with the writing style. But I do give the author credit for some intense and brave research and for writing about a place, time and people whose story had not been told.
July 15, 2014
Saw the author speak and sat with him at a banquet dinner. He is from the area where the Cornbread Mafia ruled. He is a fascinating fellow and the story is hilarious, exciting, and hugely interesting from the early Catholic settlers in the late 1700s, thru Prohibition, to the marijuana growing magnates depicted in the book. Hugely recommended and I'm only 100 pages in ... .
And, it stayed fascinating to the very end.
And, it stayed fascinating to the very end.
January 12, 2019
Wanted to read about the Cornbread Mafia and their history, but should’ve picked a book by someone who can write. This book sucks.
July 21, 2023
Interesting book about a topic that I did not know very much about.
December 18, 2012
Two and a half stars, to be honest. The quality of the writing in this book can be summed up with a single sentence, and I'm quoting directly here: "He's like a marijuana Superman whose kryptonite is vagina." Seriously. Page 340.
There's no denying that Johnny Boone's story and the surrounding culture of Central Kentucky is particularly fascinating, especially for me as a born and bred Kentuckian with rural roots. But I wish that Higdon, who loves to remind the reader of his Ivy League education and his hipster homestead in Brooklyn, had listened to his editor's advice and trimmed the unnecessary parts of Marion lore, or at least pared it down some.
There are a number of Higdon's stylistic quirks that really bother me. He deliberately uses rambling direct quotes that make the speakers sound more ignorant, I suppose to maintain his street cred as a journalist? And then the simple fact of the matter is that Higdon is just not a very good writer. His writing is forced and too full of personal asides and anecdotes to really be considered actual "journalism."
It might have been better for him to take a Capote approach a la In Cold Blood, but Higdon is clearly no Capote. The legend of Johnny Boone and his cohorts is a good story, for sure, but it deserves much more capable teller (paging Al Cross).
There's no denying that Johnny Boone's story and the surrounding culture of Central Kentucky is particularly fascinating, especially for me as a born and bred Kentuckian with rural roots. But I wish that Higdon, who loves to remind the reader of his Ivy League education and his hipster homestead in Brooklyn, had listened to his editor's advice and trimmed the unnecessary parts of Marion lore, or at least pared it down some.
There are a number of Higdon's stylistic quirks that really bother me. He deliberately uses rambling direct quotes that make the speakers sound more ignorant, I suppose to maintain his street cred as a journalist? And then the simple fact of the matter is that Higdon is just not a very good writer. His writing is forced and too full of personal asides and anecdotes to really be considered actual "journalism."
It might have been better for him to take a Capote approach a la In Cold Blood, but Higdon is clearly no Capote. The legend of Johnny Boone and his cohorts is a good story, for sure, but it deserves much more capable teller (paging Al Cross).
February 10, 2022
I liked this book; I didn’t love it. Really enjoyed the local history. A lot of pre-history was given to identify how the culture of outlawlessness grew in Marion County. For most people, I think this could be TMI.
Read
January 11, 2023I grew up about 20 miles from where the majority of the action in this book took place, so I found the subject matter interesting and enjoyed reading about all the hijinks in Marion county and beyond. However, and I'm being critical here, I found the level of detail superfluous. I would have cut about 150 pages, especially the early history of the county. Some people love the detail, but I am not one of them. I do appreciate the author doing the research and telling the story though, especially when you consider the inherent danger of researching drug felons (even if they are non violent).
November 15, 2024
Good bones here
August 6, 2012
What a story about growing pot in central KY. There were people I knew and names I recognized. Farmers resorted to growing marijuana when regular crops no longer supported their families. Apparently, Marion County is the perfect environment for fine pot. One family spent years developing the perfect strain with seeds from all over the world. One man would ultimately face life in prison for continuing to grow and sell pot.
On the day I finished the book, six people were killed by a gunman at a religious service. A week ago the massacre at the Batman movie ocurred. People can manufacture weapons and ammunition legally. People can buy and sell them legally. And yet, people can be slaughtered as a result. Should marijuana cultivation have the same punishment as multiple murders may have?
I was fascinated by the book. A number of questions came to mind as I read. I'm not sure I can find answers for them. Alcohol and tobacco are legal. The NRA will keep assault weapons legal. Is marijuana any worse? I don't know. If Johnny Boone is caught, should he spend the rest of his life in prison? I don't think so.
I enjoyed reading the first half but the author got bogged down in the last part.
On the day I finished the book, six people were killed by a gunman at a religious service. A week ago the massacre at the Batman movie ocurred. People can manufacture weapons and ammunition legally. People can buy and sell them legally. And yet, people can be slaughtered as a result. Should marijuana cultivation have the same punishment as multiple murders may have?
I was fascinated by the book. A number of questions came to mind as I read. I'm not sure I can find answers for them. Alcohol and tobacco are legal. The NRA will keep assault weapons legal. Is marijuana any worse? I don't know. If Johnny Boone is caught, should he spend the rest of his life in prison? I don't think so.
I enjoyed reading the first half but the author got bogged down in the last part.
December 11, 2024
Come for the drama, but leave with a much deeper understanding of the anti-government mindset of middle/southern rural America. The feds did them so dirty; it would be a long time before that could be forgiven. And I am not saying that flippantly; if I lived in Marion Co. KY growing up ... I could now see myself as a libertarian militia supporter/member.
I have long tried to understand how an individual could end up in that kind of mindset. There is now a real life scenario that makes complete sense. We are all living with the big picture consequences of this, and it is not great.
I have long tried to understand how an individual could end up in that kind of mindset. There is now a real life scenario that makes complete sense. We are all living with the big picture consequences of this, and it is not great.
June 6, 2012
Very disappointed how this book turned out. I (like many others from Nelson/Marion County) was really looking forward to this book. It turned out to be poorly edited version of half-truths with many things totally excluded. Had high hopes for this book, but couldn't be more disappointed.
January 14, 2015
Interesting story (minus the final, self-aggrandizing chapter), but poorly written. The author bogs down the reader with a laundry list of extraneous facts on every page; the reader doesn't recognize any style or feel to the writing itself. As a Kentuckian I received this book from others in the Commonwealth and couldn't imagine recommending it to any non Kentuckians.
January 12, 2017
This was a fascinating read, mostly set in the county where my father's family is from. And let's just say, at least one of my uncles was very...familiar...with this organization. Well-written, though I found parts of it slow.
August 29, 2013
Wow. Loved this story with a location not far from my hometown. Lots of local names and places that I recognized. Very interesting!
July 10, 2014
actually I should say I tried to read it but way too tedious despite living in Kentucky and being familiar with the locations if not the people. and I hate the cover.
March 21, 2014
A fascinating story of the marijuana cartel based in Marion County Ky. It was just not very well written especially for a journalist.
June 18, 2021
Been on my list for awhile…what a story.
November 12, 2023
B+
Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History is the story of how Johnny Boone and a group of 70 Kentucky farmers cultivated the largest domestic marijuana crop in America's history.
James Higdon's father reported on the Cornbread Mafia for the Louisville Courier-Journal when he was a child. Higdon grew up in Marian County, Kentucky, surrounded by the Cornbread Mafia and their supporters, so it makes sense for Higdon to write this book. An outsider would have never been given access to such inside information.
Higdon traces the history of the Cornbread Mafia through the hills of Kentucky into the stills of prohibition. The federal government once turned to Kentucky farmers to produce hemp for military needs. Once the government no longer needed Kentucky's farmers, they were dropped. The only problem is that after the government was through with the farmers, it gutted the agricultural industry to the point that farmers could no longer support their families.
So, the self-dependent farmers turned to another product they knew the rich Kentucky soil could produce - marijuana. Then, the government criminalized marijuana, too.
At its heart, Cornbread Mafia is about community and how far the government will go to prevent their citizens from protecting each other.
When no jury in Marian County would render a guilty verdict against any marijuana farmers, the federal government rewrote the law, sending all the farmers to federal court. When the government was finally able to make arrests, they hoped someone would make a deal to testify against their co-defendants to invoke RICO laws.
Not a single farmer amongst the 70 accepted a plea deal.
Cornbread Mafia does get slightly fact-heavy at points, with Higdon focusing more on the who-what-when-where elements of the story instead of the personalities involved, but it's still a fantastic read.
Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History is the story of how Johnny Boone and a group of 70 Kentucky farmers cultivated the largest domestic marijuana crop in America's history.
James Higdon's father reported on the Cornbread Mafia for the Louisville Courier-Journal when he was a child. Higdon grew up in Marian County, Kentucky, surrounded by the Cornbread Mafia and their supporters, so it makes sense for Higdon to write this book. An outsider would have never been given access to such inside information.
Higdon traces the history of the Cornbread Mafia through the hills of Kentucky into the stills of prohibition. The federal government once turned to Kentucky farmers to produce hemp for military needs. Once the government no longer needed Kentucky's farmers, they were dropped. The only problem is that after the government was through with the farmers, it gutted the agricultural industry to the point that farmers could no longer support their families.
So, the self-dependent farmers turned to another product they knew the rich Kentucky soil could produce - marijuana. Then, the government criminalized marijuana, too.
At its heart, Cornbread Mafia is about community and how far the government will go to prevent their citizens from protecting each other.
When no jury in Marian County would render a guilty verdict against any marijuana farmers, the federal government rewrote the law, sending all the farmers to federal court. When the government was finally able to make arrests, they hoped someone would make a deal to testify against their co-defendants to invoke RICO laws.
Not a single farmer amongst the 70 accepted a plea deal.
Cornbread Mafia does get slightly fact-heavy at points, with Higdon focusing more on the who-what-when-where elements of the story instead of the personalities involved, but it's still a fantastic read.
December 31, 2025
2.5 stars. I listened to this as an audiobook. I picked this book up, because it sounded so interesting to me, but oh my god this book was so boring. I don’t know that that’s necessarily the author’s fault or if I just found this boring, because it is a nonfiction historical account of what happened here. And this book is clearly impressively well-researched. But I really struggled to get through this. The story of what this book is about sounds so sensational and dramatic, but the story that was actually presented here was so much calmer and quieter and didn’t feel like nearly as big of a deal as the synopsis made it sound. I do find it amusing how uncooperative that one small county was. How they wouldn’t ever find the marijuana growers guilty, how they could immediately pick out undercover cops, and how when the manhunt was on for that one guy, everyone said I don’t know where he is, but I also wouldn’t tell you if I did. I feel like the author could have cleaned up some of the quotes that were included. I mean, he’s presenting this as a story of what happened, not some kind of official textbook with sources cited throughout. (Although I did listen to this as an audiobook, so maybe the physical book did have citations throughout). I just don’t know that he needed to include all of the um’s and uh’s and stumbling in the quotes. I liked his personal connection to this story that he included towards the end. I really did not end up enjoying this book at all and I had a very hard time getting through it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2025
I don't normally post a review of books that I've read. However, as a Washington County, KY native, I felt a connection to the storyline. Johnny Boone and the Cornbread Mafia is a legend in my hometown and neighboring Marion County. As a product of the 80s, I appreciated Higdon's background with prohibition and bourbon distilling and the connection it played with the outlaw mentality among proud fathers who were trying to provide for their families. It still baffles me how so many non-violent offenders growing and distributing marijuana still receive harsher punishment than murderers or other violent offenders. It's shameful. I also agree with the transition of marijuana to cocaine and how that spinned distribution out of control. Thanks, Higdon, for shedding light on the Central KY crime syndicate and portraying Boone as a normal man with a human element. No one knows what one would do under the same circumstances. Although the book was written with many characters and their own storyline, it connects the dots and provides a broader perspective of the times.
October 18, 2025
I actually do recall this book!! It is a fascinating story. An amazing tale that would make an incredible movie and even a very good novel. But this book, written by journalist, was an absolute literary disaster.
Chapter by chapter, the author jumps forward, backward, sideways…introducing characters, repeating characters, and talking about characters that you’re not sure you ever even heard of before. There did not appear to be any logical transition, and no real timeline followed.
At any given point, after describing some detailed episode the author will stick in a comment that this all occurred 3 years BEFORE some story you heard about 2-3 chapters prior to the one you are reading. If that isn’t confusing enough the characters are all Kentucky hillbillies. Therefore you have some 50 people to keep up with that share maybe three different last names because they are all related.
The author claims to have never been a pot smoker or drug user but based on his schizophrenic writing style I might have to question that.
Chapter by chapter, the author jumps forward, backward, sideways…introducing characters, repeating characters, and talking about characters that you’re not sure you ever even heard of before. There did not appear to be any logical transition, and no real timeline followed.
At any given point, after describing some detailed episode the author will stick in a comment that this all occurred 3 years BEFORE some story you heard about 2-3 chapters prior to the one you are reading. If that isn’t confusing enough the characters are all Kentucky hillbillies. Therefore you have some 50 people to keep up with that share maybe three different last names because they are all related.
The author claims to have never been a pot smoker or drug user but based on his schizophrenic writing style I might have to question that.
December 24, 2020
This is a great book because it connects the history of cannabis cultivation in Kentucky to the broader history of cannabis in America. Through this story, a reader can understand what life in America was like before cannabis prohibition, why these Kentucky men sacrificed everything to cultivate cannabis during prohibition, and a glimmer of hope that things can change for the better as we emerge from prohibition.
The most amazing thing is that since this book was published in 2012, Congress made hemp legal again in America. Then, this book's author became a co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, the first CBD brand from Kentucky to offer products that are USDA certified organic, rated "Best of the Best" by BestReviews.com.
Now that hemp is legal, there's no need for a "mafia" to continue the tradition. That's how Cornbread Hemp was born. You can find out more at: https://www.cornbreadhemp.com/cbd-cream/
The most amazing thing is that since this book was published in 2012, Congress made hemp legal again in America. Then, this book's author became a co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, the first CBD brand from Kentucky to offer products that are USDA certified organic, rated "Best of the Best" by BestReviews.com.
Now that hemp is legal, there's no need for a "mafia" to continue the tradition. That's how Cornbread Hemp was born. You can find out more at: https://www.cornbreadhemp.com/cbd-cream/
November 21, 2018
I grew up not far from where all these shenanigans happened. The legendary Club 68 in Lebanon, KY, and Raywick (where I still have family living just up the road across the county line) and the infamous Golden Horseshoe across from Club 68–places we drove past on our way from Taylor County up to Louisville to visit my grandmother on Sundays. And we never talked about what was really going on out in the cornfields or the back rooms of the bars in Marion County. This book filled me in on the underground economy of my home region. All through my reading, I thought to myself, we learned nothing from Prohibition—that’s how we got the Mafia. And if pot had been legalized, none of these farmers would have ever seen the inside of a prison.
December 10, 2018
While this book is sprinkled with interesting anecdotes, some of which about the more colorful characters involved and others a brief breakdown in the history of crime in Marion country (where the majority of the book is set), I mostly found this book to be a bit dull. It's well-written enough, but I just never felt engaged by the subject, and you think I would since I live in the state where it all happened! Maybe it's because I believe drug laws to be stupid wastes of time, money, and manpower, so I empathized more with the Cornbread Mafia, who produced drugs simply to make a living in an otherwise poor county that was already economically ravaged by other pointless prohibition laws. Overall, the book was alright.
January 15, 2021
I met the author (and bought this book) at a reunion held in Kentucky of relatives connected to what is called the "Maryland to Kentucky" family, the ancestors who left Maryland in the late 1700s and traveled to Kentucky to find a better place to freely follow their Catholic faith. As a result my interest was already high to learn anything of Marion, Washington, and Nelson County. As I read this book I actually opened my map apps many times to get a better understanding of all the businesses, farms, natural boundaries, etc.
I had no problems following the progress of this book, or staying focused on its contents. I did feel there were a few times when too much additional information was added, but again I think that would depend upon the reader's expectations.
I had no problems following the progress of this book, or staying focused on its contents. I did feel there were a few times when too much additional information was added, but again I think that would depend upon the reader's expectations.
February 6, 2021
This true story of the largest marijuana operation that was based in Lebanon, KY is amazing and yet when Author Higdon explains the culture, the hardships and the lack there of opportunities in rural KY, raising a cash crop takes on a different meaning.
This book covers so much information about Johnny Boone and the history of central KY, it’s fascinating. In the 50’s to the 70’s, because of the lawlessness, underage drinking, night clubs, live music and liberal attitudes of Lebanon and that area it was referred to as the “Ft LAuderdale of Central KY”.
Ironically, Johnny Boone, will be released from prison on 2/11/2021, next Thursday.
This book covers so much information about Johnny Boone and the history of central KY, it’s fascinating. In the 50’s to the 70’s, because of the lawlessness, underage drinking, night clubs, live music and liberal attitudes of Lebanon and that area it was referred to as the “Ft LAuderdale of Central KY”.
Ironically, Johnny Boone, will be released from prison on 2/11/2021, next Thursday.
April 25, 2023
true crime
I picked this book because it takes place in Central Kentucky. It is now 10 years old, a little more, and some of the statements are no longer true. (Worst natural disaster was NOT the ice storm of 2009, not anymore.). But it’s still a good story, rambling at times, and backtracks on itself a bit. Pretty sad that people go to prison for growing plants. The author mentioned that the news coverage made it seem like the whole of Marion county was involved in the drug business, (far from the truth,) and the main operatives were violent people. There was a fair amount of killing, but most of the growers weren’t violent. Glad I read it.
I picked this book because it takes place in Central Kentucky. It is now 10 years old, a little more, and some of the statements are no longer true. (Worst natural disaster was NOT the ice storm of 2009, not anymore.). But it’s still a good story, rambling at times, and backtracks on itself a bit. Pretty sad that people go to prison for growing plants. The author mentioned that the news coverage made it seem like the whole of Marion county was involved in the drug business, (far from the truth,) and the main operatives were violent people. There was a fair amount of killing, but most of the growers weren’t violent. Glad I read it.
December 15, 2025
Since I only moved to Kentucky a few years ago, I try to pick up some of state’s history every once in a while. I volunteer in Marion County sometimes, and people still talk about the Cornbread Mafia and their epic marijuana growing operation all the time. “My cousin was one of those Boones,” that sort of thing. The book is a little meandering, but overall entertaining and informative. If you enjoy true crime that lets you root for the criminals, this one’s a must-read.
This review was originally published on my blog.
This review was originally published on my blog.
April 6, 2019
Not real impressed. The story may be a good Inez but it’s tough to tell with all the meandering prose, which makes one question how much weed the writer was smoking while writing. Though the book succeeds in making its subjects somewhat admirable for their pride and work ethic, the author largely ignores and let’s them off the hook for the collateral damage their trade does, their obsession with machismo and guns, and their choice to live lives of drug addled escape.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews