During the development of this book, I was lucky enough to have followed the author into a Manhattan pop-up bar and got to meet his bartender/collaborator, and to try some of these drinks. I also got to meet the illustrator. It is an extremely fun book. Every bar in America should have a copy, on a chain to keep it from being lifted.

This is a charming collection of famously drunk (and dead, to Norman Mailer's apparent dismay) authors and associated drinks. The recipes are very classic and can be trusted to be true to the drink's original make-up and intent. The introductions and anecdotes for each author are great reads.

My only two complaints are that the drinks seem to sometimes only be loosely connected to the highlighted author and the writing samples are too brief. The excerpts for each writer are well chosen and highlight drinking in the author's works. No doubt Faulkner and Hemingway suffered no shortage of passages from which the editors could select.

I love this book. Now I sound so much smarter when I order a drink and I feel amongst the greats!

Writing is the occupation that drives more people to drink than any other, except for the law. This short book is a summary of quotations from famous authors about worshiping at the alter of Bacchus, along with recipes for some of their favorite concoctions. Not much of substance, but a great list of sayings - choose your own favorite.

"Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with, that it's like compounding a felony."

- Robert Benchley

"You never start our in life with the intention of becoming a bankrupt or an alcoholic."

- Raymond Carver

"I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on principle."

- Raymond Chandler

"I love parties excessively. That's the reason I don't go to them."

- John Cheever

"First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Three times I have been mistaken for a Prohibition agent, but I never had any trouble clearing myself."

- Dashiell Hammett

"What's the use of winning the Nobel Prize if it doesn't even get you into speakeasies?"

- Sinclair Lewis

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

- Hunter S. Thompson

Enjoy!

Provides short descriptions of famous American writers, snippets of their work, and a recipe for a cocktail related to the author.

This was a quick fun read. I hate that I kept it on my to-read shelf for so long. Will definitely have to try some of the drinks.

Vale pelas histórias pitorescas e, caso o leitor tenha disposição, pela possibilidade de experimentar todos os drinques do livro.

This was a real short book and one that now has a permanent position in my home. We all know that some of the best writers were absolute drunks. Bukowski, Steinbeck, Hemingway. This book shares a little backstory of those writers along with drink recipes for their preferred adult beverage.

Bukowski favored a Boilermaker, which I'll admit to not knowing what that is. It turns out that it's something I really doubt that I would drink. It's a shot of whiskey with beer as a chaser OR a shot of whiskey dropped into a mug of beer. That would fell my sorry butt in a heartbeat. Although I do appreciate my whiskey.

Truman Capote imbibed in Screwdrivers, which I actually have the ingredients for and it sounds mighty good.

Alot of the writers were gin folks. That might be a staple that I need to add to my small bar. Although I'm usually a rum or whiskey girl, I'm willing to expand my horizons.

Obviously, I don't encourage the type of drinking that these writers did. But I see nothing wrong with partaking every now and again with friends or as a nightcap.

Enjoy!

a must read for anyone who loves booze and books!

This was a riot.

First you are presented with a cartoon and quote of a famous author (and a few I hadn’t even heard of, so add that to my already-insane-TBR pile), then a few paragraphs detailing some of their wilder drunker excursions, then a drink recipe that was either the author’s favorite, or featured in their book, and then an excerpt from one of their writings that’s specifically about drinking- just so you know, these people really understood drinking.

It was a lot of fun. I bookmarked at least 6 recipes to try (a French 75 being the top of that list), added a few books I wanted to read, and thoroughly enjoyed my time in this book.

((Update three years later- I still drink French 75's and 77's and they're my favorite now.))

A nice quick read, full of drunken writerly anecdotes, drink recipes, and drink related writing.

pretty entertaining with mini-bios, excerpts, and drinks of dozens of american authors. sometimes drinks seem randomly assigned though....

Writers like to drink… a lot. I like to read funny stories about what they did or said while drinking, because writers tend to be quite witty. This book fills that desire perfectly. Each author chosen has a two-page spread detailing an incident where they were drinking, a recipe for their drink of choice (or one often associated with them), a line or two about drinking from one of their books

Kerouac, Benchley, Fitzgerald and, of course, Hemingway, all found a place in the book, along with dozens of others. It’s a quick read, but a fun one. I also loved seeing some of the unique drink recipes included. While watching the Oscars, I mixed a few of the cocktails from the books. My favorites were the French 75 and the Tom Collins. I’m a gin girl and apparently many writers were gin drinkers too.