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| Absinthe: History in a Bottle | 
 enlarge | Author: Barnaby Conrad
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $16.95
You Save: $6.00 (26%)
New (9) Used (7) from $11.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 184366
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 172
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 11.4 x 7.7 x 0.6
ISBN: 0811816508
Dewey Decimal Number: 301
EAN: 9780811816502
ASIN: 0811816508
Publication Date: February 1, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Paperback. Ships promptly w/notification emailed after shipping.
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Product Description
One hundred forty-four proof, notoriously addictive, and the drug of choice for 19th-century poets, absinthe is gaining bootleg popularity after almost a century of being banned. Due to popular demand, this book is back in a new paperback edition. 60 color photos. 100 illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 History in a Bottle November 24, 2008
Barnaby Conrad III chose a fitting subtitle for this book: `History in a Bottle'. Absinthe conjures fin-de-siecle images of brooding poets, manic painters, and workers shorn of hope and ambition, all guzzling the milky green liquid as they headed toward physical ruin and moral decay. When a Swiss labourer murdered his family in August 1905 after indulging in absinthe (among other spirituous liquors), a movement to ban the drink sprang to life. By World War I, absinthe was illegal almost everywhere, and it became the symbol of a decadent period in European history.
There's no question that the absinthe our forefathers enjoyed in boulevard cafes and poets' dens was just short of being poison. The average batch was 120-144 proof, and had high levels of thujone, a component of the wormwood herb used in absinthe production. Thujone, in sufficient doses, could cause convulsions. But any herb-based liquor is harmful in excess, and only the hardcore `absintheurs' refrained from diluting their doses with water and sugar. Conrad suggests that absinthe, whose emerald green color spawned the nickname `Green Fairy', was the victim of a hysterical element that needed a scapegoat for the drunken murderers, crazy artists, and moral degenerates that seemed to abound. I wonder what they did when these same social problems persisted after the Green Fairy had its wings clipped?
Conrad has written an intelligent overview of this controversial drink. He traces the `cult of absinthe' to the 1840s, when the government of France issued it to soldiers stationed in Algeria as a means of preventing fevers. Absinthe quickly became popular among French workers, who embraced it as tightly as their English counterparts did gin. When it acquired a following among self-destructive writers and artists like Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Verlaine, Vincent Van Gogh, and Dadaism pioneer Alfred Jarry, absinthe was branded guilty by association.
`Absinthe- History in a Bottle' is a beautiful volume, with glossy pages and colourful images. Because the text is interspersed with attractive illustrations and packed with titillating anecdotes about such infamous absintheurs as Oscar Wilde and Vincent Van Gogh, it will appeal to the general interest reader as well as those with some familiarity with the unruly history of absinthe.
book September 1, 2008
My best friend is going to enjoy reading this book about the history of Absinthe. Thanks!
The liquor called "Absinthe"--- in Art and History! February 24, 2008
When I first saw this book, I wondered how any author could fill an entire book on just one subject: ABSINTHE. Well, the author of this book managed, somehow, to intertwine the history of Absinthe, along with Art from the Impressionistic period, and also the economic influences during the period in History in which ABSINTHE was legalized ....and then later on, in which Absinthe was pronounced illegal (ie: in most Countries, even today).
In fact, this book gives a wonderful explanation as to why ABSITHE finally became illegal in most parts of the World (...and I doubt that many books have explained this fact in such great datail ,thus far).
In a nutshell, this book is fascinating and the author really did his homework!
The book "Absinthe" is in full color, and many of the paintings in this book portray characters drinking (and enjoying) ABSINTHE. Photos are not skimpy. Reproductions of the Impressionistic paintings take up the full page (in many instances).
If I may add: I had no idea that so many famous painters (eg:Degas) had produced such wonderful paintings with this liquor (Absinthe) as part of the subject matter! In fact, many of the Absinthe paraphernalia shown in the reproduced paintings, had to be pointed out to me, as the reader, by the author. Without the author's keen insight, I would have surely missed the connection.
In conclusion, if you are an Art lover, and also, if you are interested in the subject of History, in general, I think that you would find this book not only fascinating but also enlightening.... on a subject so rarely discussed.
 A lovely book riddled with errors and solecism November 29, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is one of the most beautiful and beautifully produced picture
books about an alcoholic beverage that I've ever seen. The plates
represent a pocket history of fine and graphic arts around the turn
of the nineteenth century.
Unfortunately the text doesn't live up to the promise of the pictures.
There are a number of errors: piquette is not exceptionally strong wine-
it is an exceptionally weak one. There is also some silliness: dogs
can't be said to have hallucinations and many experiments are reported
without a trace of interpretation or skepticism.
This lack of critical thinking is especially odd since the consensus
of researchers is that 'absinthism' was a myth. Whatever psycopathologies
may have been attributed to its consumption are no different from
those traditionally associated with drinking alcohol of questionable
purity. Moonshine drinkers in America and cashasa drinkers in Brazil
are the relevant comparisons.
There is also no mention of the recent absinthe revival and nothing on
the prickly and central question of just what ingredients are necessary
before an herbal concoction can be called 'absinthe'.
The best part of the text is the last. The author recounts his own
experience chasing down a bottle in Switzerland and consuming later
in his flat in Paris.
So buy this book for the pictures, but read almost anything else
for the real story.
Lynn Hoffman, author of the totally factual New Short Course in Wine,The and the completely fictitious bang BANG: A Novel
Absinthe is Exemplary September 16, 2007
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I gravitated towards this book for many reasons:
As a culinarian, I was fascinated with the story of Absinthe, a once taboo liqueur; but which has many like variations around the world and which actually has deeper history than just the 19th century.
I have also studied France and the 19th century history, including anthropology and sociology. This book brings together an incredible account of this period. What is more, the story of Absinthe is one that is not just typical, but also very exemplary of the socio-cultural mystique of the period, as well as the social life of the cafe.
To add to this interest and worldly idea, the author has added beautiful art alluding to the intellectual sentiment that pervaded cities like Paris and other bohemian and/ or artistic enclaves of the world.
This book is a rare find for readers of all these interests and I recommend it. It's not just exemplary, but very good.
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