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An examination of intoxicants from alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco to opiates, amphetamines, and hallucinogens. Looks at why intoxication has always been part of the human experience.
In his History of England of 1757, the novelist Tobias Smollett records the case of a suicide pact between a London book binder named Smith and his wife who, having fallen into bankruptcy, killed their only child and then themselves. What struck Smollett about these deaths was the absence of helplessness. The Smiths' suicide was merely a calculated decision about the most prudent course open to them. Walton's highly original and necessarily idiosyncratic work mixes history, philosophical insight and the latest science to produce a vivid and exuberant account of how emotions have shaped our history.
The complete bartender's guide to creating and mixing over 500 classic cocktails and famous mixed drinks, all shown in more than 480 colour photographs
An A–Z guide to over 80 of the world's most famous vodka brands Contains recipes for famous vodka cocktails, as well as new ones for flavoured vodkas The latest addition to the successful Classified series The word ‘vodka’ is the diminutive of ‘water’ in various Slavic languages. Made from grains, molasses, potatoes, even grapes, vodka is often drunk neat in eastern Europe and Scandinavia, but it is now ultra-fashionable elsewhere in the world, where it is best known as a base for famous cocktails such as the Bloody Mary, the Cosmopolitan and, of course, the Vodka Martini. Vodka Classified features an A–Z of vodka brands, both from the traditional producing countries – Russia, ...
The story of how humiliation has been used as a means of coercion and control in the modern age - from the shaving of the heads of alleged women collaborators in occupied France to the social media pillorying of the 21st century.
Stuart Walton's The Devil's Dinner looks at the history of hot peppers, their culinary uses through the ages, and the significance of spicy food in an increasingly homogenous world. The Devil's Dinner is the first authoritative history of chili peppers. There are countless books on cooking with chilies, but no book goes into depth about the biological, gastronomical, and cultural impact this forbidden fruit has had upon people all over the world. The story has been too hot to handle. A billion dollar industry, hot peppers are especially popular in the United States, where a superhot movement is on the rise. Hot peppers started out in Mexico and South America, came to Europe with returning Spanish travelers, lit up Iberian cuisine with piri-piri and pimientos, continued along eastern trade routes, boosted mustard and pepper in cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, then took overland routes to central Europe in the paprika of Hungarian and Austrian dumplings, devilled this and devilled that... they've been everywhere! The Devil's Dinner tells the history of hot peppers and captures the rise of the superhot movement.
Gives a short history, illustrations of current brands and bottles, and serving suggestions for selected spirits, liqueurs and fortified wines.
The First Day in Paradise tells the story of a young orphaned family who have been passed on from one set of relations to another, and whose eldest sibling, Adam, becomes enthralled by the impending opening nearby of a gigantic and beautiful shopping-mall by a flamboyant entrepreneur. To the consternation of his aunt and uncle, who run a small business, he joins the staff of one of its stores, and begins a dizzying ascent through the ranks, until circumstances induce him to question whether his entire value-system has become corrupted. Functioning both as social-economic critique, and as a personal moral fable about the conjuration of ambition from present-day consumer culture, The First Day in Paradise is an engrossing and layered tale loosely modelled on Dante's Paradiso, but most of all it's simply a great read.
A complete guide to the different types of drinks and mixers available, including spirits, fortified wines, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks.
This superb little book contains a selection of 50 gin recipes, from best-loved blends such as Gin Swizzle, Dry Martini and My Fair Lady to trendy new mixes such as Park Avenue, Arctic Summer and Lady Killer. The book's introduction outlines the history of gin and its new-found popularity amongst cocktail connoisseurs; then, there are guidelines on how to serve gin, the specialist equipment you will need and the best types of glasses to use. There are step-by-step instructions on the tricks of the trade, such as crushing ice, frosting glasses, making fruit twists, and steeping gin, as well as professional bartending tips. Each recipe explains the cocktail's history and suggests suitable garnishes. Whether you are planning a fabulous cocktail party or seeking to impress your dinner guests with a cheeky aperitif, this book will help you enjoy gin in a myriad of ways.