The Joy of Drinking

by Barbara Holland

Book Overview

With characteristic elegance and delicious wit, Barbara Holland, ("a national treasure,"-- Philadelphia Inquirer ) celebrates the age-old act of drinking in this gimlet-eyed survey of man's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596913371
• ISBN13: 9781596913370
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.8" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

funny and biting

I met Barbara Holland at our book club when we read HAIL TO THE CHIEFS. She's as great in person as she is on paper. Thanks, Barbara, for THE JOY OF DRINKING. Witty, with just enough sarcasm and bite. It's good to take a step back and laugh yourself sometimes. I loved it.

Great non-fiction summer read

This is a wonderful read. Ms. Holland produced a tightly written, humerous look at drinking. She even lets you know how to build a still.

As pleasurable as a perfect cocktail!

The Joy of Drinking is a delightful diversion for readers. Holland is witty, articulate, sophisticated and succinct, and even when she is educating us about the history of drinking, or the debt civilization owes it, she does it subtly. Her writing is "read aloud" prose -- a perfect cocktail shaked to perfection and served with a flourish! It's first rate conversational material on our cocktail table -- small enough that it doesn't interfere with critical drink space, but ready to spark a lively conversation about a pleasurable activity. She entertains us like someone we'd love to have drinks with, and reminds us that drinking is a social and sociable activity. I read it through twice, and love to pick it up and read a few pages at random. Buy two -- one for you and one for a friend whose company over drinks gives you great enjoyment! Cheers.

Absolutely delightful

Barbara Holland had me from the first sentence. This is wonderful writing reminiscent of the great essayists of the last century. I've purchased several copies of this book as gifts.

Bottoms up!

I never knew drinking could be so much fun (or that it used to be even more fun!) until I read Barbara Holland's new book, "The Joy of Drinking". Packing a wallop as good as some of the cocktails she describes, Holland compares how alcohol brought people together for the first time thousands of years ago to now.... the change in our own lifetime in the way we drink has been profound. It's as much a commentary on sociology as the booze itself. Holland's humor is dry and when I found myself chortling at some of her lines, I knew I was hooked on the book. Early on she describes the percentage of daily nutritional needs that are met by a moderate beer drinker and then goes on to say, "should he go on to immoderate beer drinking, he becomes a walking vitamin pill." Now, THAT'S good stuff! She quotes Mark Twain as saying, "sometimes too much drink is barely enough". The book is (if I may say so), "laced" with these witticisms and it gives her work a distinct flavor for which even vodka lovers might yearn. But "The Joy of Drinking" gets serious, too. Invading wine countries that defeated spirits countries found the local brew not to their liking. The drinking habits of the Founding Fathers, both singly and collectively, are covered here as well...the history books never told us that, as I recall. She has chapters on the gin of England, the not so pure Puritans, the temperance movement, Alcoholics Anonymous, hangovers, boozers versus coffee and water drinkers, etc. There's so much here in this 148-page prose and all of it is good. "The Joy of Drinking" may never outsell "the Joy of Cooking", but it should. Holland's narrative style is a delight and her book mirrors what has become lost in the transition to the electronic age. The main thrust of the book seems to be this....drinking for dozens of generations was a social merriment and now we have flavored vodkas, vintage wines and people drinking alone at home as they pore over their computers. Yes, "joy" is the key word in the title and Holland reminds us that things have indeed changed with regard to that social nature of drink... change that she sees not for the good. I highly recommend "The Joy of Drinking". It's a wonderful romp!