TITLE: The Modern Drunkard
SUBTITLE: A Handbook For Drinking In The 21st Century
AUTHOR: Frank Kelly Rich (Editor of Modern Drunkard Magazine)
PUBLISHER: Riverhead Books (www.Riverheadbooks.com)
TYPE: Reference/Guidance (No Really!)
COST: $14.00 US
REVIEWED BY: Chris Carlsson, SpiritsReview.com

This is a book on serious drinking and on deportment, behavior, etiquette and outlook. Although the publishers have not seen it that way – they have classified it as a humor book so you sometimes have to look for it in the Humor Section of a bookstore rather than the Self Help, Life Style, or Wine and Spirits sections – possibly for liability reasons. With the older generations of serious drinkers (I define them as pre-1965) dying out, there has been a growing cultural and knowledge gap as the lessons, behaviors and socialization are lost.

How many men were never taught how to properly carve a Thanksgiving turkey, dress for dinner, or an evening out? The same could be said for drinking – most young people act they have been raised by wolves or Baptist Ministers.

Gone is the knowledge on how to throw a proper cocktail party – not some frat boy beer blast, how to behave (or appropriately misbehave if you will) in a bar, how to mix a proper drink, or the culture of drinking as practiced by our forefathers and mothers.

The book starts with the “The 86 Rules of Boozing,” a distillation of bar wisdom and deportment and proceeds from there to provide, practical planning and lifestyle guidance for almost all drinking/social situations you may encounter. Mr. Rich also provides some sound advice and philosophy for serious drinkers – a cross between Dr. Phil, Verlaine and Hemingway.

To hell with a drinking age – it should be knowledge based (that was basically my fathers philosophy), and this book should be required reading for your exams – written, oral and practical, preferably with internships.

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