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Alcohol

A History

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Alcohol

Written by: Rod Phillips
Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
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About this listen

Whether as wine, beer, or spirits, alcohol has had a constant and often controversial role in social life. In his innovative book on the attitudes toward and consumption of alcohol, Rod Phillips surveys a 9,000-year cultural and economic history, uncovering the tensions between alcoholic drinks as healthy staples of daily diets and as objects of social, political, and religious anxiety. In the urban centers of Europe and America, where it was seen as healthier than untreated water, alcohol gained a foothold as the drink of choice, but it has been more regulated by governmental and religious authorities more than any other commodity. As a potential source of social disruption, alcohol created volatile boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable consumption and broke through barriers of class, race, and gender.

Phillips follows the ever-changing cultural meanings of these potent potables and makes the surprising argument that some societies have entered "post-alcohol" phases. His is the first book to examine and explain the meanings and effects of alcohol in such depth, from global and long-term perspectives.

©2014 Rod Phillips (P)2017 Audible, Inc. Customs & Traditions Food & Wine World Wine Imperialism Alcohol Refugee Ancient History City Self-Determination
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Only sometimes interesting...

While at times had some interesting facts and bits, this was mostly a slog of a read. Not presented in a very interesting way, lots of repetition, and the reader seems bored. At one point towards the end of the book, he randomly decided to do an Indian accent for the quote by Ghandi. No one else got that treatment.
For a purely academic point of view, it covered the material but just it was just hard to get through.

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