Selected as a Top Ten Book of the Year by Dwight Garner, New York
Times
A "fearlessly honest account" (Financial Times) of man's love of
drink, and an insightful meditation on the meaning of alcohol
consumption across cultures worldwide
Drinking alcohol: a beloved tradition, a dangerous addiction, even "a
sickness of the soul" (as once described by a group of young Muslim men
in Bali). In his wide-ranging travels, Lawrence Osborne--a veritable
connoisseur himself--has witnessed opposing views of alcohol across
cultures worldwide, compelling him to wonder: is drinking alcohol a sign
of civilization and sanity, or the very reverse? Where do societies fall
on the spectrum between indulgence and restraint?
An immersing, controversial, and often irreverent travel narrative, The
Wet and the Dry offers provocative, sometimes unsettling insights into
the deeply embedded conflicts between East and West, and the surprising
influence of drinking on the contemporary world today.