A Short History of Drunkenness
- Author Mark Forsyth
- Narrator Richard Hughes
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Run Time 5 hours and 31 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Beers and ciders, Food and drink: non-alcoholic beverages, General and world history, Humour, Social and cultural history, Spirits, liqueurs and cocktails, Wines.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- $15.99
- $14.99
- $13.99
- $12.99
- $11.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Short History of Drunkenness by Mark Forsyth, read by Sh*tfaced Shakespeare's Richard Hughes.
Almost every culture on earth has drink, and where there's drink there's drunkenness. But in every age and in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. It can be religious, it can be sexual, it can be the duty of kings or the relief of peasants. It can be an offering to the ancestors, or a way of marking the end of a day's work. It can send you to sleep, or send you into battle.
A Short History of Drunkenness traces humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition, answering every possible question along the way: What did people drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible reasons, why? On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at how Greeks got giddy and Romans got rat-arsed, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never quite like in the movies.
This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.
Critics Review
-
My favourite book of this and possibly any other Christmas is Mark Forsyth’s A Short History of Drunkenness
The Spectator -
Forsyth’s jokes are snappy and well delivered. Unlike most comical writers he never falls into the trap of confusing long-windedness with irony
Mail on Sunday -
Haha! . . . Highly suitable for Xmas!
Margaret Atwood -
This entertaining study of drunkenness makes for a racy sprint through human history
Sunday Times -
A brisk and brilliant romp through our hiccoughing history, drenched with wit. Bloody marvellous from first sip to last burp
Jason Hazeley, co-author of the Ladybird series (including 'The Ladybird Book of the Quiet Night In' and 'The Ladybird Book of the Hangover' -
Reading like a TED talk delivered by a stand-up comedian, this made me laugh out loud more than my first ever night out on absinthe. As essential as a hip flask or a pack of pork scratchings for any true connoisseur of booze. A Short History of Drunkenness is this year’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape of Christmas books, no less. Bloody entertaining.
Emlyn Rees, author of 'The Very Hungover Caterpillar' and 'We're Going on a Bar Hunt'
More from the same
Narrator
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.