Monday, November 26, 2007

Felten book now out

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"How's Your Drink?" columnist Eric Felten has a new book out just in time for the holidays. Here's an excerpt:

"Recommending good things to drink is an enterprise fraught with moral peril. Encourage folks to try a cocktail, and there are sure to be some among them who will like it altogether too much.

"A good drink, though not without risk, can be eminently livable. Alcohol is no doubt a drug, but in moderation it is a very social one. It primes the conversational pump; it nudges the shy from the bonds of their awkwardness; it midwives romance; it concludes treaties. Firewater, like fire, can be awesomely destructive; learning to marshal the power of both is a hallmark of civilization.

"A proper cocktail is one that connects us with each other even more than it connects us with the past. At its best, a good drink is a sort of secular communion, a cup of fellowship."