The Politics of Alcohol A History of the

Questions about drink -- how it is used, how it should be regulated, and the social risks it presents -- have been the source of sustained and heated dispute in recent years. Nicholls puts these concerns in historical context by providing a detailed and extensive survey of public debates on alcohol from the introduction of licensing in the mid-sixteenth century through to recent controversies over 24-hour licensing, binge-drinking and the cheap sale of alcohol in supermarkets. In doing so, he shows that concerns over drinking have always been inextricably tied to broader questions about national identity, individual freedom and the relationship between government and the market. He argues that in order to properly understand the cultural status of alcohol we need to consider what attitudes to drinking tell us about the principles that underpin our modern, liberal society. The Politics of Alcoholpresents a wide-ranging, accessible and critically illuminating guide to the social, political and cultural history of alcohol in England. Covering areas including law, public policy, medical thought, media representations and political philosophy, it will provide essential reading for anyone interested in the history of alcohol consumption, alcohol policy or the complex social questions posed by drinking today.

James Nicholls is Senior Lecturer in the School of Historical and Cultural Studies at Bath Spa University.

Introduction * A monstrous plant: acohol and the Reformation * Healths, toasts and pledges: political drinking in the seventeenth century * A new kind of drunkenness: the gin craze * The politics of sobriety: coffee and politics in Georgian England * A fascinating poison: early medical writing on drink * Ungovernable passions: intoxication and Romanticism * Odious monopolies: power, control and the 1830 Beer Act * The last tyrant: the rise of temperance * A monstrous theory: the politics of prohibition * The state and the trade: the drink question at the turn of the century * Central control: war and nationalisation * The study of inebriety: medicine and the law * The pub and the people: drinking places and popular culture * Prevention and health: alcohol and public health * Beer orders: the changing landscape in the 1990s * Drinking responsibly: media, government and binge drinking * Conclusion: the drink question today * Index

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

The Politics of Alcohol A History of the Drink Question in England

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials