The drunken monkey : why we drink and abuse alcohol /

Having found very little in the alcoholism literature on the causes of alcohol addiction, Dudley (Univ. of California, Berkeley; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama) hypothesizes that the abuse of alcohol in humans may have a Darwinian (genetic) component. His "drunken monkey" hypothesis forms the framework for an update on and review of research on this topic. The well-organized, highly informative, and lucidly detailed work is an example of excellent scientific writing. Reading the work, however, will not result in an acceptable answer to the question posed by the subtitle. The book is filled with suggestions, interpretations, conjecture, and refutation, along the lines of the concept of science proposed by Karl Popper; phrases such as "forces acting on ... are unknown," "the understanding remains poor," "limited insights," and "difficult to assess" illustrate this. The book includes a brief subject index, but instead of literature references in the text, there is a "Sources and Recommended Reading" section at the end. A valuable library acquisition, on the basis of the author's clear, accessible writing. --Richard S. Kowalczyk, University of Michigan

Dudley (integrative biology, Univ. of California-Berkeley; research associate, -Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst.; The Biomechanics of Insect Flight) proposes the "drunken monkey" hypothesis as the evolutionary basis for alcoholism. The author contends that alcohol naturally produced in fermented fruit acts as a long-distance signal to an available food source, rewarding hunter-gatherers who followed the signal with the benefits of low-level alcohol consumption as well as caloric gain. Dudley argues that there is now a biological mismatch as the prevalence of alcohol means that the once-beneficial predisposition to consume it can lead to excess intake. He summarizes research on the manner in which fruit flies and mammals partake of natural alcohol sources and explains the genetic differences between fruit flies and humans that can drastically affect the metabolism of alcohol. Though Dudley's work does not directly impact the treatment of alcoholism, he suggests avenues for future research that could improve our understanding of the biological causes of the condition and possibly lead to more effective solutions. VERDICT This persuasive and engaging book will interest students and scholars of biology and evolutionary medicine; it offers a new viewpoint when compared with Mark E. Rose and Cheryle J. Cherpitel's Alcohol: Its History, Pharmacology, and Treatment.--Laurie Neuerburg, Victoria Coll.-Univ. of Houston Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.