Description
Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1998. From its contested origins in nineteenth-century California; through its popularity among the smart set of the 1930s, world leaders of the 1940s, and the men in the gray flannel suits of the 1950s; to its resurgence among today's retro-hipsters: Lowell Edmunds traces the history and cultural significance of the cocktail H. L. Mencken called the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.
Trade ReviewWhether or not you take your martini as seriously as Lowell Edmunds, this is an admirable account of the drink's place in the American dream.
—Justin Warshaw,
Times Literary SupplementEdmunds seems to have unearthed every reference to the martini since its creation sometime in the 1870s, and by researching recipe books from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he has painstakingly reconstructed the actual history of a cocktail swaddled in myth. He tracked down the first shipment of French vermouth to the United States (from Noilly Prat, in 1851). He got the lowdown on Sherwood Anderson's unfortunate death-by-toothpick after drinking a martini. He compiled a list of every martini cartoon ever to appear in the
New Yorker. The martini is the last word on cocktails. This book is the last word on the martini.
—William Grimes,
New York TimesFew drinks achieve such complex and ambiguous symbolism as the martini, and likely few writers could decode it as well as the polished Edmunds . . . Such is the unadorned pleasure of Edmunds's book, its rare scholarly intimacy, that there can be little doubt that he delighted in his fieldwork very much.
—
Kirkus ReviewsEqual parts academic study, critical appraisal, and love letter, this book sees the martini as the liquid equivalent of jazz—a marvelous and misunderstood American art form . . . Edmunds fashions a convincing theory that places the feisty cocktail at the very heart of American civilization.
—Stephen Whitlock,
Out Magazine.Edmunds treats us to a cultural history of the martini, from its origins in the Gilded Age to its 1990s symbolism . . . The drink may be dry, but this book is anything but.
—Lori D. Kranz,
Bloomsbury Review[Edmunds] brings the rigor and thoroughness of a true scholar to the study of the Martini's place in American culture.
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Well Fed NetworkTable of ContentsList of Illustrations
Preface to the Revised Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Introduction
Time Line. The Martini Decade by Decade
The Simple Messages of the Martini
Message One. The Martini is American—it is not European, Asian, or African
Message Two. The Martini is urban and urbane—it is not rural or rustic
Message Three. The Martini is a high-status, not a low-status, drink
Message Four. The Martini is a man's, not a woman's, drink
Message Five. The Martini is optimistic, not pessimistic
Messgae Six. The Martini is the drink of adults, not of children
Message Seven. The Martini belongs to the past, not the present
The Simple Messages Reconsidered
The Ambiguities of the Martini
Ambiguity One. The Martini is civilized—the Martini is uncivilized
Ambiguity Two. The Martini unites—the Martini separates
Ambiguity Three. The Martini is classic—the Martini is individual
Ambiguity Four. The Martini is sensitive—the Martini is tough
Historical Background of the Ambiguities
Conclusion
Theory, Method, and Bibliography
Appendix. The Martini Glass
Notes
Index
