A Short History of Drunkenness
How, Why, Where, and When Humankind Has Gotten Merry from the Stone Age to the Present
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4.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the internationally bestselling author of The Etymologicon, a lively and fascinating exploration of how, throughout history, each civilization has found a way to celebrate, or to control, the eternal human drive to get sloshed
“An entertaining bar hop though the past 10,000 years.”—The New York Times Book Review
Almost every culture on earth has drink, and where there’s drink there’s drunkenness. But in every age and in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. It can be religious, it can be sexual, it can be the duty of kings or the relief of peasants. It can be an offering to the ancestors, or a way of marking the end of a day’s work. It can send you to sleep, or send you into battle.
Making stops all over the world, A Short History of Drunkenness traces humankind’s love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to the twentieth century, answering every possible question along the way: What did people drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible reasons, why? On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at how Greeks got giddy and Sumerians got sauced, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never quite like in the movies.
This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Etymologist Forsyth (The Etymologicon) presents an entertaining jaunt through intoxication over the ages, from prehistoric times to Prohibition, with equal parts enlightening data and delightful color commentary. He takes readers on a tour of an ancient Sumerian tavern (where the law dictated that bartenders failing to give correct change would be executed), and elucidates the differences between inns, taverns, and alehouses in medieval London. He explores religious and cultural rituals related to drinking over the ages, including ancient Egypt's orgiastic Festival of Drunkenness, the Greek symposium, and the Roman convivium, where one's designated seat at the table spoke volumes about one's social status. Forsyth quotes literary sources extensively, including The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Animal Farm, as well as both the Old and New Testaments. While some of the material covered will be familiar, Forsyth also includes some lesser-known details, like the provenance of the phrase "Dutch courage" and the history of the British "Rum Corps" in Australia. Forsyth's clever sense of humor and flair for perceiving subtle historical ironies make for livelier and more amusing reading than any cold recitation of facts.
