A Short History of Drunkenness
How, why,where and when humankind has got merry from the Stone Age to the present
Published on 6. September 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-241-35924-2 (ISBN)
Description
THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANYONE WHO ENJOYS A TIPPLE . . . OR TWO . . . OR TEN!
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. Tracing humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition, it answers every possible question:
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 Romans got rat-arsed, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never like the movies.
This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.
'This book is a laugh riot. I mean the way the author has presented it is hilarious and to the point' Goodreads Reviewer
'Highly entertaining. Cheers! Bottoms up! Good health!' Goodreads Reviewer
'It can make a good gift for someone with a sense of humour and appreciation for the magical powers of alcohol' Goodreads Reviewer
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. Tracing humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition, it answers every possible question:
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 Romans got rat-arsed, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never like the movies.
This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.
'This book is a laugh riot. I mean the way the author has presented it is hilarious and to the point' Goodreads Reviewer
'Highly entertaining. Cheers! Bottoms up! Good health!' Goodreads Reviewer
'It can make a good gift for someone with a sense of humour and appreciation for the magical powers of alcohol' Goodreads Reviewer
Reviews / Votes
My favourite book of this and possibly any other Christmas is Mark Forsyth's A Short History of Drunkenness -- Marcus Berkmann * The Spectator * Forsyth's jokes are snappy and well delivered. Unlike most comical writers he never falls into the trap of confusing long-windedness with irony -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday * Haha! . . . Highly suitable for Xmas! -- Margaret Atwood This entertaining study of drunkenness makes for a racy sprint through human history -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times * A brisk and brilliant romp through our hiccoughing history, drenched with wit. Bloody marvellous from first sip to last burp -- Jason Hazeley, co-author of the Ladybird series (including 'The Ladybird Book of the Quiet Night In' and 'The Ladybird Book of the Hangover' Reading like a TED talk delivered by a stand-up comedian, this made me laugh out loud more than my first ever night out on absinthe. As essential as a hip flask or a pack of pork scratchings for any true connoisseur of booze. A Short History of Drunkenness is this year's Chateauneuf-du-Pape of Christmas books, no less. Bloody entertaining. -- Emlyn Rees, author of 'The Very Hungover Caterpillar' and 'We're Going on a Bar Hunt' Sometimes you see a book title that simply gladdens the heart. Everyone I showed this book to either smiled broadly or laughed out loud . . . This is a book of some brilliance - probably best consumed with a restorative glass of something by your side. -- Marcus Berkmann * Daily Mail * As Mark Forsyth brilliantly shows, civilisation is built on booze. Egypt (beer), Greece and Rome (wine) depended on alcohol to create their mighty works. Where man drinks, he prospers, and vice versa. A toast to this spirits-fuelled spirits-lifter. Staggering! -- Harry Mount, editor of The Oldie I thought I knew quite a bit about drinking but A Short History of Drunkenness made me look at inebriation anew. Each chapter amazed, challenged and stimulated me so much that I needed a stiff drink at the end of it. -- Henry Jeffreys, author of Empire of Booze With a great eye for a story and a counterintuitive argument, Mark Forsyth has enormous fun breezing through 10,000 years of alcoholic history in a little more than 250 pages. -- Henry Jeffreys * The Guardian *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
189 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-35924-2 (9780241359242)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Mark Forsyth
A Short History of Drunkenness
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€8.49
Available for download
Person
Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon was a Sunday Times Number One Bestseller and his TED Talk 'What's a snollygoster?' has had more than half a million views. He has also written a specially commissioned essay 'The Unknown Unknown' for Independent Booksellers Week and the introduction for the new edition of the Collins English Dictionary. He lives in London with his dictionaries, and blogs at blog.inkyfool.com.