Alcohol: A History

Alcohol: A History

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.
Country USA
Brand University of North Carolina Press
Manufacturer The University of North Carolina Press
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber black & white halftones
UnitCount 1
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	University of North Carolina Press
Manufacturer	The University of North Carolina Press
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	black & white halftones
UnitCount	1
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

You might also like...