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Drink iain gately5/24/2023 At times its philanthropic side has appeared to be in the ascendant, at others the psychopath has been at large. Its equivocal influence over civilisation can be equated to the polar characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It is the most controversial part of our diet, simultaneously nourishing and intoxicating the human frame. Gately states in his opening paragraph: "Alcohol is a fundamental part of Western culture. It can't be wished away, as Americans above all should understand, having suffered through Prohibition and its appalling consequences.īetter, instead, to face the inescapable reality and try to understand the many ways in which, over the ages, we have used and abused it, profited and suffered from it, refined it and been changed by it. Those who take the occasional (or more than occasional) drink are likely to enjoy it more than those who do not, but a central theme should be of interest to all: like it or not, alcohol has been and always will be with us, an important part of human history, culture and society. Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol is thorough, informative, briskly readable and witty. Iain Gately, a British writer who six years ago published Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilisation, now turns his attention to booze, a subject of similar character but considerably larger import. Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol, by Iain Gately.
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