How, Why, Where, and When Humankind Has Gotten Merry From the Stone Age to the Present

The New York Times sent me to Audible this afternoon to use my latest book credit. I could not resist the influence of a review that ends: As the philosopher William James (an American, no less) put it: “Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, unites, and says yes.”

Tony Perrottet, the reviewer of A Short History of Drunkenness, explains  that the author is — unsurprisingly — not averse to a tipple. "In fact," he summarises, the good folks at A.A. will be apoplectic over this book, which suggests that heavy drinking is a basic human need, providing us with relief from the burdens of civilized society and even, for many cultures in history, a glimpse of the divine."