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Drinking in America
Drinking in America: Our Secret History | Susan Cheever
25 posts | 9 read | 42 to read
In DRINKING IN AMERICA, bestselling author Susan Cheever chronicles our national love affair with liquor, taking a long, thoughtful look at the way alcohol has changed our nation's history. This is the often-overlooked story of how alcohol has shaped American events and the American character from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Seen through the lens of alcoholism, American history takes on a vibrancy and a tragedy missing from many earlier accounts. From the drunkenness of the Pilgrims to Prohibition hijinks, drinking has always been a cherished American custom: a way to celebrate and a way to grieve and a way to take the edge off. At many pivotal points in our history-the illegal Mayflower landing at Cape Cod, the enslavement of African Americans, the McCarthy witch hunts, and the Kennedy assassination, to name only a few-alcohol has acted as a catalyst. Some nations drink more than we do, some drink less, but no other nation has been the drunkest in the world as America was in the 1830s only to outlaw drinking entirely a hundred years later. Both a lively history and an unflinching cultural investigation, DRINKING IN AMERICA unveils the volatile ambivalence within one nation's tumultuous affair with alcohol.
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review
Tkgbjenn1
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Pickpick

The Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock due to a shortage beer. Johnny Appleseed traveled the frontier promoting the fermentation of Hard Apple Cider. Ethan Allen took Fort Ticonderoga with the help of a little liquid courage. The battle on Lexington Green was little more than a drunken skirmish. These facts and many more concerning the impact of alcohol on American History is in this fascinating book.

katy4peas 😮 4y
wanderinglynn Interesting. I read A History of the World in 6 Glasses and History of Bourbon, both fascinating insights into how liquor has shaped human history and specifically American history. 4y
Tkgbjenn1 I will put this on my “to read” list. Thanks wanderinglynn 4y
30 likes3 comments
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Hollie
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Leftcoastzen I liked this book! The copy I read didn‘t have this cool cover. 5y
Hollie @Leftcoastzen well that‘s disappointing, but I‘m glad you liked the book! 5y
ValerieAndBooks I got this one because of you! A good read. My oldest borrowed it, so I don‘t have it here right now. 5y
Hollie @ValerieAndBooks I hope your oldest likes it. I still need to read John Cheever after having read this one. 5y
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sidherinn
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ValerieAndBooks
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I chose these beers yesterday for a mixed six-pack 🇺🇸😊🇺🇸. Hubby and I are currently drinking Jefferson‘s Golden Ale and hoping the worst of the expected rain will avoid us when we BBQ 🤞!

phatsallylee Yards is a brewery close to me. Enjoy! 5y
Hoopiefoot Dogfish! I‘m lucky that I live near the brewery 😀🍺 5y
LeahBergen What cool beers! 5y
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Megabooks Hope you had a great evening! 5y
ValerieAndBooks @phatsallylee Awesome you‘re near Yards! Hubby and I have talked about doing an overnight stay in Philly to try out their brewpubs (we‘re 45 minutes away) — maybe after youngest is off to college this fall! 5y
ValerieAndBooks @Hoopiefoot now Dogfish is a bit farther out for us — but close enough that their beer is ubiquitous in stores and tap rooms 👍! 5y
ValerieAndBooks @LeahBergen we only managed to drink half of these last night (daughter wanted margaritas too 😂) but it was fun! 5y
ValerieAndBooks @Megabooks it was great. The rain didn‘t come by here, so we were able to fully enjoy the BBQ and the pool 😊 Hope yours was good 💖 5y
Carleneishere That sparkler beer was in a mixed case we got for a baby shower and it was the first thibg anyone drank! 5y
ValerieAndBooks @Carleneishere Really? We‘ll try that one tonight 😊 ! 5y
kspenmoll What a great idea with your beer! Sounds lime a fun day for all! 5y
70 likes11 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
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Pickpick

This starts out strong when discussing America‘s drinking habits from the arrival of the Mayflower to Prohibition. Towards the 2nd half of this book, the author shifts gears and focuses more on individuals who influenced American (i.e. Joe McCarthy, Nixon) who were also alcoholics. Overall, a quick and interesting read that had me saying “did you know...” to whoever was sitting nearest me while reading. @Hollie mentioned this book. #becauseoflitsy

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ValerieAndBooks
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My grandparents lived just a few blocks away from Fort Humboldt. As a teen during a family visit, I took my dog for a walk and somehow ended up at Fort Humboldt. When I got back, my mom said she had never been there, in spite of spending most of her childhood in Eureka 😳. And it is just now that I learn Grant spent some time there and lost his post due to his drinking.

ValerieAndBooks @Hollie with this info definitely am sending this book along to my dad! I don‘t know if they know about Grant‘s stay in their hometown, even though my dad is a Civil War buff. 6y
KVanRead Eureka‘s a cool town. Love the huge Victorian downtown. 6y
ValerieAndBooks @KVanRead Carson Mansion, right? Quite the landmark 💚 6y
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Hollie That is so cool! I‘m sure he will love reading it, especially now that there is the hometown connection. 6y
UrsulaMonarch Interesting! Will have to look into this the next time I'm in eureka. Also I had no idea about Grant's height! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Hollie I‘m finding that this angle on history so interesting!! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Hollie I‘m finding this angle on history so interesting!! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Lkelly I, too, was surprised by his height even in an age where people were shorter than they were today. He doesn‘t look slight in pictures. 6y
71 likes8 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
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Somehow this detail had been skipped over in history classes when we were in elementary school 🤔😂. I am a Mayflower descendant, BTW.

LeahBergen 😂😂 6y
ReadingSusan @ValerieAndBooks ha ha that‘s funny! I am also a Mayflower descendent. 6y
Suet624 I am too! 6y
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britt_brooke 🍻👏🏻 6y
Leftcoastzen I love Susan Cheever. 6y
cathysaid My husband is from Wisconsin and I have always maintained that winters there are the reason so many from that area are professional drinkers. Now I have proof! 6y
64 likes1 stack add6 comments
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Hollie
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Of the books I have in my office, this one has the #bestcover. I may have to do another one of these tonight when I get home with my fiction titles like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. #jingleshelves

MrBook Love this one 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻!!! 6y
Hollie Thanks @MrBook 😀 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love it!!!! And you know I love Evelyn 💚💚💚 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love it!!!! And you know I love Evelyn 💚💚💚 6y
Hollie @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks yes, Evelyn was such a good read! ❤️😍 6y
42 likes5 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
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This is the book haul from last week‘s trip. If I was rich, would have picked out at least 1,000 more! Top three books are mine; bottom three are younger son‘s. Also got a new Starbucks “place” mug!! Not pictured: a goody I picked up for my Secret Santa match 😉.

Tagged book is because of #Litsy ( @Hollie ) and I‘ve just removed it from my Litsy TBR.

BookMaven407 I love those mugs. ☕️🙂 6y
saresmoore Seems such a shame that the majority of the world‘s wealth is wasted on people who don‘t read. Great souvenirs for you, though! 6y
Hollie Can‘t wait to see what you think of it since you‘ve read about her father‘s experiences! 6y
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ValerieAndBooks @BookMaven407 I do too 💖— we have quite a few, as my husband also travels frequently for work! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @saresmoore I agree with you! If even a tiny percentage of this wealth went towards books and promoting literacy, what a huge difference that would be already! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Hollie I was really excited to find it on the sale table 😄! It‘ll be high up on the TBR. 6y
IamIamIam Just noticed that Philip Johnson book! He's the architect of my favorite New York World's Fair structure, the New York State Pavilion! Going to have to see if I can find that! 😄 6y
83 likes7 comments
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Hollie
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Pickpick

I finished this on the (long) car ride home yesterday. It was fascinating and informative as well as entertaining. It is exactly the kind of history I like to bring into my class...the kind that is often overlooked in school. The quote she uses before the prologue is perfect. "America had been awash in drink almost from the start- wading hip-deep in it, swimming in it, at various times in its history nearly drowning in it." Great nonfiction read!

ValerieAndBooks Ooh, stacking! My current read is about writers and drinking, and one of the authors discussed is her dad, John Cheever. 7y
Hollie @ValerieAndBooks she mentions that book in hers! I think you'll like this one, and I'm stacking 7y
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Hollie
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Apparently Ethan Allen was a drunk who was not fond of his wife!

APLitlife Too funny! 7y
britt_brooke 😆 7y
2BR02B I guess spectral interventions only work on Ebenezer Scrooge. 7y
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ValerieAndBooks Love it! One of my ancestors was a Green Mountain Boy who was at Ticonderoga with Ethan Allen. Maybe he was one of those guys 😂! 7y
Hollie @ValerieAndBooks that is so cool! I bet your family is rich with history. That would be totally awesome if your ancestor took part in the spectral intervention!! 7y
Hollie @2BR02B I suppose so! 😂 7y
Hollie @APLitlife @britt_brooke it cracked me up when I read this! 7y
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Hollie
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This one is off to a good start!

Libby1 "Flinty, rebellious, and fired by adversity". Good assessment. 7y
Jess_Read_This This book sounds so interesting! And I know of about three people who would love it as a gift! 🍻 7y
Hollie @Jess_Read_This it would make such a great gift! 7y
Hollie @Libby1 so far the book has been full of good assessments! 7y
30 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Hollie
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I'm headed to OKC at the crack of dawn tomorrow, and since I'm not driving for once, I get to pack these three lovely books for the trip!

Hollie @rubyslippersreads great news! I've got high hopes for it now! 7y
42 likes2 comments
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Hollie
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"Drinking in America" came in my #bookmail last night and I can't wait to get it started. Hurry up spring break! #professorsoflitsy

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Hollie
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My first BOTM box has arrived (and unfortunately I have a meeting so I can't open it yet) but that didn't stop me from ordering these two lovely hardbacks from Amazon today... #blameitonLitsy

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Hollie
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#readJanuary #thismonth'sTBR
I'm currently reading A Certain Age, but am anxiously anticipating Love Warrior and The Mothers which I've got a hold on at the library. I'm #2 and #3 so hopefully soon!! Drinking in America I hope will put me back in historian mode in the beginning of the semester, or perhaps my new students will drive me to drink, whichever. All of these are on my list for #LitsyAtoZ

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BeththeBookDragon
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My oldest is with his grandparents and my youngest was unexpectedly invited to spend the evening with a friend! Woohoo! Time to party! And by party, I mean read books

JacqMac Heavenly! 7y
PatienceFortitude Sounds like my kind of party!🎉 7y
Reviewsbylola Soooooo jealous! Enjoy your night! 7y
Cortg I love those kind of nights! Enjoy 7y
Jinjer Best kind of party! 📚 7y
104 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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BeththeBookDragon
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Because.

Flaneurette Hey! I have those wine glasses too! Cheers 🍻 7y
RadicalReader @BeththeBookDragon gotta go along with the theme after all. Figure that is why some of the best books have them. You go around screaming Harry Potter spells at people they will become mystified and some stupefied 7y
135 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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LauraBeth
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I just learned some very useful information about PBR - thanks @Liberty 😀(and yes, I'm a year behind on some things...). Podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/drunk-booksellers-podcast/id998365564?mt=2&i...

Gina Your dog really loves laying on his back. That is too cute! 7y
Godmotherx5 I only learned a week before you. Better late than never. 7y
LauraBeth @gina she follows me around every second and then rolls on her back as soon as I sit down 🐶 7y
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LauraBeth @Godmotherx5 I'm always late to the party 😀 7y
Kristio @LauraBeth I'm listening backwards and it's still amazing! I 💙 listening to @Liberty and @rebeccaschinsky ! 7y
jessberk13 I think I'm going to read this for the #LitsyReadingChallenge! 7y
Kimberussell I love that podcast. 7y
LauraBeth @Kristio me too 😀 7y
LauraBeth @jessica it sounds interesting! 7y
LauraBeth @Kimberussell I just discovered it 😀 7y
139 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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bio_chem06

The American public is still, as it was then, easy to manipulate with uncertainty and fear.

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Well-ReadNeck
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Mehso-so

#nonfictionnovember

Enjoyed this slim volume. Learned a thing or three about the topic. However, the organization of the book seemed disjointed. Although well researched and written, I couldn't help but wish this had been taken on by Sarah Vowell both for her humor and for the way she can weave slightly disjointed topics together seamlessly.

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Well-ReadNeck
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So, still processing the election, but this seemed like a good book to give me a distraction. 😜 Also, may count for #bookandbrew #photoadaynov16

Lovely to have such a warm and caring online community here. I ❤️ Litsy!!

britt_brooke Such a wonderful bookish community! 💕 7y
Lynnsoprano Agreed. Such a special group. 7y
MicheleinPhilly My not-so-secret activity today. 😜 7y
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Faibka Litsy has kept me going on a difficult workday 7y
SuperPunkNinja Yes and yes. 7y
Bette 💙👍 7y
Flaneurette I might be on my third glass of wine 🍷 right now. Shhhh 7y
150 likes6 stack adds7 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
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#TBRTuesday

Reading Perks of Being A Wallflower on kindle, plus these library goodies!!! Love the #nonfictionnovember idea Going to try to fit some more in this month.

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bio_chem06
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While the neighbors rake leaves, I'm not missing the chance to read on my porch in this amazing fall weather. I might even crack open a brew to go along with the theme....
#worthit #theleavescanwait

MrBook I want this one! 😎👌🏻 7y
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bio_chem06

I am sure the Americans fix nothing without a drink. -Frederick Marryat 19th century