Alcohol : A History.

Phillips (Carleton Univ.) has produced a most interesting, comprehensive study of alcohol's role in shaping the development of the modern world. From farmers in ancient China and Mesopotamia who produced the first alcoholic beverages to student binge drinkers in the US and Europe, Phillips uses alcohol as a prism through which to view major changes in political, economic, and religious thought over the centuries. Drawing on a rich body of archaeological, documentary, and ethnographic literature, the author explores cross-cultural ambivalence toward alcohol drinking and reveals the complex regulations that resulted from that uncertainty. Divergent relationships with alcohol in Christianity and Islam, for example, highlight the fine line separating the sacred and profane nature of alcohol consumption. Medical knowledge, technological innovation, urbanism, and fears about potentially dangerous drinking water helped expand beer and wine production in medieval Europe and give rise to distilling industries in the early modern era. Alcoholic beverages nurtured European colonial ventures in Africa and the New World and helped bridge cultural and economic divides. Temperance movements, anti-alcohol campaigns, and experiments with prohibition underscore the ongoing ambivalence toward alcohol. A must read for alcohol studies scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --Frederick H. Smith, College of William and Mary