Review by Choice Review
Sociologist Vander Ven (Ohio Univ.) accomplishes his goal of raising the level of understanding about the circumstances of getting wasted. His sociological approach utilizes symbolic interaction to investigate the phenomenon of binge drinking on college campuses. Nearly 500 students at three four-year universities shared their drinking stories. The data were enhanced by 25 intensive interviews that allowed the researcher to shed light on the social nature of drinking. He is clear that college drinkers drink to get obliterated; reasons include "it's game day," "school's out," and peer pressure. Vander Ven maintains that getting wasted is an intoxication process starting with intoxication management and ending with the postintoxication experience. Chapters 4 and 5 illustrate the seriousness of getting wasted. The discussions concerning drunk support and crisis management are strengths of this work. Vander Ven leaves readers with three reasons for the persistence of binge drinking: belief in systematic, socially facilitated strategies to avoid trouble; association of social awards with drunkenness; and social support extended by co-drinkers when trouble arises. A must read for undergraduates, students, faculty and administration, and parents. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. A. A. Hodge Buffalo State College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Vander Ven (sociology & anthropology, Ohio Univ.; Working Mothers and Juvenile Delinquency) delves into well-trod territory, though with a somewhat new perspective and research motive. While previous scholarly efforts have focused on binge drinking and its inherent risks, Vander Ven focuses on the social structure, meaning, and implication of drinking behaviors. With an intended audience of researchers, students, and parents, as well as college administrators, the book recounts the self-reported alcohol-related rationalizations and outcomes of over 400 college students at three different campuses. The author focuses on the impetus for drinking and the important roles codrinkers play, the range of activities that can result during a bout of drinking (fun to potentially fatal), and the ensuing impact and result of the drinking episode. This is not a comfortable read. And yet despite limited analysis and an academic's awkward touch on somewhat questionable youth-culture language, the book does offer a realistic portrayal of socially bonding drinking behaviors and attitudes. In the end Vander Ven suggests stellar ways campuses can reduce the harm of excessive drinking. VERDICT Recommended for sociologists, university administrators, and college-age students.-Jewell Anderson, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ. Lib., Savannah (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review
