Drunks: An American History
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.93 (580 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B072Q31JH5 |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 239 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-08-25 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A social history of alcoholism in the United States, from the 17th century to the present day. And we meet Carrie Nation, the wife of an alcoholic who destroyed bars with an ax in her anger over what alcohol had done to her family, as well as the idealistic and energetic Washingtonians, reformed drunks who led the first national movement to save men like themselves. Christopher Finan recounts the nation's history with alcohol and its search for sobriety, which began among Native Americans in the colonial period, when liquor was used to cheat them of their property. Alcoholics Anonymous and a growing number of recovery organizations are providing support for alcoholics who will face the danger of relapse for the rest of their lives. Today's advocates can draw inspiration from the victories of sober drunks throughout American history. This is narrative history at its best: entertaining and authoritative, an important portrait of one of America's great liberation movements.. We have finally come to understand alco
A good, short history with some faults So far, this is proving to be a very interesting book about a topic I was only somewhat familiar with. I am an Americanist by training, so I was well aware of how much Americans drank before the 20th century -- but apart from studying the occasional "temperance novel" that often accompanied various Revivalist and temperance movements in the 19th century, I w. Bottoms Up I was surprised to read about how early some Americans regarded alcoholism as a disease that could be treated and, if the patient was motivated, cured. Certainly this was not a majority opinion, and a general puritan vs. sinner attitude prevailed for much of time before Alcoholics Anonymous, and even now. Drunks: An American History is a short, well-written . A nice but not exhaustive history of alcohol This isn't the most definitive history of alcoholism in the United States, but it's a pretty good effort from Christopher Finan. Starting with the poignant story of President John Adam's alcoholic son who died at age 30, the author takes us through the early colonial days and beyond.The stories of Handsome Lake, an Iroquois leader who fought hard against dri