Alcohol has been man's drug of choice the world over since the dawn of time - and not just because it helps ugly people have sex. Here for the first time is a clear distillation of everything drink-related that's remotely worth knowing - a concoction guaranteed to leave you intoxicated.
A complete history of drink biblical boozing national drinking cultures and customs the physiology of being drunk legendary drinkers drink in film, art and literature the world's best bars the world's finest, worst and weirdest tipples bluff your way in wine-tasting make your own moonshine urban myths and tales of excess how to cheat a hangover drinking slang famous quotations and double measures of the finest trivia all round.
Did you know . . .
- Elephants are the animal kingdom's big drinkers. They'll travel for miles to get a hit of naturally fermenting fruit.
- Toasts were originally drunk in Ancient Greece in order to assure a guest that the wine wasn't poisoned.
- To smuggle his booze on set, hardened drinker Errol Flynn finally resorted to injecting oranges with vodka.
