Swimming with Crocodiles: The Culture of Extreme Drinking

There is evidence that a distinct pattern of alcohol consumption is emerging across the world. Its visibility, particularly its high involvement of young people, makes this not only an issue for public safety and order in many countries, but also a highly contentious and politicized subject. Swimming with Crocodiles introduces a new term-"extreme drinking"-to encapsulate the many facets of this behavior, taking into account the motivations for the heavy, excessive, and unrestrained drinking patterns of many young people. Edited by Marjana Martinic and Fiona Measham, the ninth volume in the ICAP Book Series on Alcohol in Society discusses factors that motivate extreme drinking, explores the developmental, cultural and historical contexts surrounding it, and offers a new approach to addressing this behavior through prevention and policy. The centerpiece of the book is a series of focus groups conducted in Brazil, China, Italy, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, which examine young people's views and motivations behind extreme drinking, as well as the cultural similarities and differences that exist, conferring at once risk and protective factors. Book jacket.

Marjana Martinic, Ph.D., is Vice President for Public Health at the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP, U.S.A.). She has published extensively in the fields of neuroscience and alcohol policy