Publication
Viking (2018), 256 p.
Collections
Awards
Deutscher Hörbuchpreis (2020)
Description
"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. A Brief History of Drunkenness traces humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition and modern Japanese Nomikai. On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at the beer King Midas was buried with, and attempt to resist the urge to try the Aztecs' alcoholic hot chocolate. From Australia's only military coup - the Rum Rebellion - to the gin epidemic of eighteenth-century London, Forsyth elegantly presents a history of the world at its inebriated best."--Publisher's description.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
The author tries to be funny, but I think you would have to be drunk to enjoy it.
I managed to get about halfway through this.
I managed to get about halfway through this.
LibraryThing member deusvitae
An exploration of drinking customs among various societies around the world throughout history.
The author writes as if, well, he's had one too many at times. The style is conversational, abrupt, a bit crass, and sometimes foul. At times, detail gets overlooked; at other times, we get plenty of
In terms of what I can speak toward in terms of specialty, in terms of the Bible, the section was not terrible; the point about shekar not being beer is highly contestible, since shekar is mentioned frequently in the OT, we've found plenty of breweries in archaeological expeditions, which makes sense, considering the associations with Egypt...and in his source area it seems Alter is his only recent source, which makes the whole thing seem a bit suspect.
Based on that, I'd take many of the claims with a grain of salt. One does get a picture of the prevalence of drink and what it has meant in various societies, even if one does not sign on to the author's attempt to justify its prevalence as inevitability.
**--galley received as part of early review program
The author writes as if, well, he's had one too many at times. The style is conversational, abrupt, a bit crass, and sometimes foul. At times, detail gets overlooked; at other times, we get plenty of
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detail. The overgeneralizations at times are a bit stunning...and might concern many readers, for if these historical bits are getting treated casually, how much confidence can there be in what is described in detail?In terms of what I can speak toward in terms of specialty, in terms of the Bible, the section was not terrible; the point about shekar not being beer is highly contestible, since shekar is mentioned frequently in the OT, we've found plenty of breweries in archaeological expeditions, which makes sense, considering the associations with Egypt...and in his source area it seems Alter is his only recent source, which makes the whole thing seem a bit suspect.
Based on that, I'd take many of the claims with a grain of salt. One does get a picture of the prevalence of drink and what it has meant in various societies, even if one does not sign on to the author's attempt to justify its prevalence as inevitability.
**--galley received as part of early review program
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LibraryThing member LibStaff2
3.5 Stars
More entertainment than history, but a fun, quick and easy read, for anyone interested in the brief history of drunkenness.
Penguin First to Read Galley
More entertainment than history, but a fun, quick and easy read, for anyone interested in the brief history of drunkenness.
Penguin First to Read Galley
LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
This is a brief, but fairly detailed, look at how alcohol has been used and regarded through the ages. From prehistory to America’s Prohibition, the 18 chapters tell us how alcohol has been used to see religious visions, to go to work, to end work, to discuss important issues and decisions, to
Forsyth’s prose is witty and irreverent, and a fast read; I read the 230 pages in two evenings- although it’s not a book that demands to be read at once; it’s one of those that you can put down and pick up again at any point. As nonfiction, it’s quite light. Sometimes the wit seems too much, as if he was afraid to write a sentence with no punchline, but all in all it’s very enjoyable. And he has done his homework and there’s a bibliography to prove it. So if you want to know who the Norse god of drunkenness was (it’s Odin) or how the gin craze started (it has to do with grain excesses), this is the book for you. Four stars.
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communicate with their ancestors, and just about everything else. Most cultures have used alcohol, and it’s not limited to humans- naturally fermented fruit is enjoyed by both monkeys and elephants. Forsyth’s prose is witty and irreverent, and a fast read; I read the 230 pages in two evenings- although it’s not a book that demands to be read at once; it’s one of those that you can put down and pick up again at any point. As nonfiction, it’s quite light. Sometimes the wit seems too much, as if he was afraid to write a sentence with no punchline, but all in all it’s very enjoyable. And he has done his homework and there’s a bibliography to prove it. So if you want to know who the Norse god of drunkenness was (it’s Odin) or how the gin craze started (it has to do with grain excesses), this is the book for you. Four stars.
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LibraryThing member quondame
Amusing short essays on how different areas of the world and time periods handled the inevitable drunkenness of it's members. Sometimes celebrated as nearness to gods at others reviled as being bestial, drunkenness is the cause for passionate reactions. The book is mostly amusingly informative - my
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favorite Odin returning the Mead of Poetry to the gods. The author is somewhat prone to judgemental commentary not always supported by what he has written. Show Less
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
I love Mark Forsyth's writing. I think I've read (and own) everything he's written and I've yet to be let down. He's got the dry, British humor in spades and his writing is always excellent. His original bibliography focused on etymology, but he's lately broken out into short, but focused,
Forsyth makes it clear from the start that this is not a comprehensive history of drunkenness; that would be a comprehensive history of humanity. But he does break it down into a very easy to follow, somewhat linear timeline, with each chapter focused on a specific culture, or age. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but it turns out ancient Greeks got a bad rap; when it comes to partying they had nothing on ancient Egyptians. Or late 19th/early 20th century Russians. Holy crap.
The book ends in more or less modern times, but Forsyth does revisit America in the last chapter; specifically Prohibition and Did it work?. Half my family was in Chicago during Prohibition and the other half was in Florida, with a constant stream of 'revenuers' and bootleggers coming through the tiny fishing village called home, so I'm not sure I entirely buy his premise that Prohibition was a success. On the other hand, my family's history would give me exactly the skewed perspective that would make me dubious. No matter what my opinion is, his take on Prohibition was fascinating and (to me) an entirely new way of viewing the 18th amendment experiment.
But the best part, the very best part of the book, for me, is something only a few here will immediately appreciate, and it's this, from a quote in the chapter on the American Wild West:
"The saturnalia commenced on Christmas evening, at the Humboldt [saloon]..."
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histories. Forsyth makes it clear from the start that this is not a comprehensive history of drunkenness; that would be a comprehensive history of humanity. But he does break it down into a very easy to follow, somewhat linear timeline, with each chapter focused on a specific culture, or age. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but it turns out ancient Greeks got a bad rap; when it comes to partying they had nothing on ancient Egyptians. Or late 19th/early 20th century Russians. Holy crap.
The book ends in more or less modern times, but Forsyth does revisit America in the last chapter; specifically Prohibition and Did it work?. Half my family was in Chicago during Prohibition and the other half was in Florida, with a constant stream of 'revenuers' and bootleggers coming through the tiny fishing village called home, so I'm not sure I entirely buy his premise that Prohibition was a success. On the other hand, my family's history would give me exactly the skewed perspective that would make me dubious. No matter what my opinion is, his take on Prohibition was fascinating and (to me) an entirely new way of viewing the 18th amendment experiment.
But the best part, the very best part of the book, for me, is something only a few here will immediately appreciate, and it's this, from a quote in the chapter on the American Wild West:
"The saturnalia commenced on Christmas evening, at the Humboldt [saloon]..."
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lukerik
I think this might have been designed as a stocking-filler book. Jocular and light-hearted tone, but it is actually a proper book and even has references if you want to read more. It’s arranged as a series of essays on various drinking cultures down through time. It’s a bit like a having a chat
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about drinking with an amusing chap who has had no more than one and a half glasses of wine. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780241297681
Physical description
256 p.; 5.43 inches
Pages
256