{"product_id":"the-wet-and-the-dry-a-drinkers-journey-9781846554629","title":"The Wet And The Dry: A Drinker's Journey","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘I am taking a few months off to travel and wander, drinking my way across the Islamic world to see whether I can dry myself out, cure myself of a bout of alcoholic excess. It is a personal crisis, a private curiosity… I am curious to see how non-drinkers live. Perhaps they have something to teach me.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBooze is mankind's premier drug of choice, the most popular mind-altering substance ever devised, and it plays a furtive, celebrated and subversive role in nearly every culture on earth. In \u003ci\u003eThe Wet and the Dry\u003c\/i\u003e, Lawrence Osborne explores the culture of permission, particularly in the West, and the opposing culture of prohibition, notably in the Islamic East.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOsborne’s globe-trotting odyssey takes him from the luxurious bars of Milan to the vineyards of Lebanon, threatened by Hezbollah; from Swedish vodka to Pakistani strawberry gin; from the Nellie Dean pub in Soho to the dangerous brothels and drinking dens on the Malaysian border; from the boutique scotch produced on Islay to the liquor destroying Native American reservations; and from the only brewery in the dry country of Pakistan to the search for a bottle of New Year’s champagne in Oman. All the while, Osborne’s own Irish family history of terrifying alcoholism fails to deter him from seeking out a drink wherever he can.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr Osborne is a superb travel writer, one who, like Evelyn Waugh, can size up a locale at almost a glance. This intoxicating book has political as well as sensual overtones -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eTranscends mere travelogue: leached out, amused, slightly weary…The result is one of those ‘but’ books that insert an awkward little wedge into the Western media’s otherwise monolithic and clichéd view of Islam. -- James Hamilton-Paterson\u003cbr\u003eHis travels and his erudite understanding of drink make a good read -- Douglas Osler * Scotsman *\u003cbr\u003eFunny and provocative -- Scott Bradfield * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eAnyone interested in the global culture of drink will be captivated by Lawrence Osborne's travel narrative... Mr Osborne is a perspicacious, knowing guide, and a maker of arrestingly beautiful sentences -- Rosie Schaap * New York Times *","brand":"Vintage Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51020720243031,"sku":"9781846554629","price":14.24,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781846554629.jpg?v=1750784190","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-wet-and-the-dry-a-drinkers-journey-9781846554629","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}