| Spirits of America: A Social History of Alcohol Contributor(s): Burns, Eric (Author) |
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ISBN: 1592132693 ISBN-13: 9781592132690 Publisher: Temple University Press OUR PRICE: $28.76 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2010 Annotation: American politics and culture have been greatly influenced by alcohol since colonial times. Eric Burns's witty and comprehensive book, The Spirits of America, looks at what he calls "the first national pastime," and details the transformation of alcohol from virtue to vice and back again. Burns describes how liquor was thought of as both scourge and medicine. Bringing such vivid characters as Carrie Nation and other crusaders against drink back to life, Burns explains how and why Prohibition--the culmination of the reformers' quest--had as much to do with politics and economics and geography as it did with spirituous beverage. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - General - History | Social History - Cooking | Beverages - Alcoholic- General |
| Dewey: 394.130 |
| Physical Information: 0.82" H x 6.34" W x 9.08" (1.03 lbs) 344 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Details the transformation of alcohol from virtue to vice and back again, how it was thought of as both scourge and medicine. This title tells us how the great American thirst developed over the centuries, and how reform movements and laws (some of which, the author says, were comic masterpieces of the legislator's art) sprang up to combat it. |