Alcohol —— Science, Policy and Public Health

I am so pleased to be able to review this title positively, as a truly excellent, and very readable resource which not only offers a fairly objective account of the public health issues, and impact of alcohol, but also the historical and socio-political contexts for its use and misuse. Unlike the more subjective often highly biased tomes that have evolved from the need to address the problems caused by alcohol dependency, usually inspired or written by people who have recovered from such dependency, this text has a sense of balance that enables it to be accessed by those people who like me react with some scepticism to the more personally invested, often evangelical, approach. The chapters take the form of quite short essays or reports that inform the reader and actually grab attention whilst retaining an academic approach to the subject matter of the chapter. The division of the book into nine parts is logical and helpful, allowing the reader to access material relevant to them very quickly. The parts are, respectively: Framing the Issues; Alcohol: chemistry and biology; Patterns of consumption; Alcohol: gender and age-related issues; Alcohol, injury and violence; Alcohol and cancer; Alcohol and non-malignant disease; Therapeutic aspects: current approaches; Alcohol policy. The identified market for the book is quite narrow and I think that anyone who has any interest in the subject could usefully buy and read this excellent title largely because there is so much diverse information that will appeal across many disciplines, both professional and lay reader.

Each chapter is a standalone article dealing with a different aspect of alcohol from art, history and literature to brewing, genetics and chemistry; it is a joy to see so much collected on the one topic in one volume and with such breadth. Everything has been written by a learned person, it is all well referenced and is beautifully put together with sharp black text on a good grade of white paper: you are going to be able to get a lot of use out of this. As someone without any higher education in science I admit to finding the scientific sections a struggle, they are sufficiently well written that I get the gist but I miss the deeper understanding, though as a reader can restrict their reading to those topics they find appealing this isn't a huge issue: there is so much here to keep an interested reader occupied. The sections dealing with the social side of drink were among the best I've come across, as they give clear, detailed and well-referenced explanations with no obvious bias or political motivation. Without doubt this is the best reference I have come across for alcohol and is a brilliant work for anyone interested in alcohol and a must have for anyone professionally involved with it.

Please note, I am in no way involved in public health so I am not writing this from an informed point of view but more one of general interest. In my opinion, and differing from that on the back of this text, I'm not convinced that this book is for public health professionals to aid in their treatment of those with alcohol related problems, but more for students and those looking into the historical context and evolution of alcohol consumption. The references, at the end of every chapter, are great and offer clear direction for those looking for further reading. It also utilises a number of graphs and other similar ways of collecting data to paint an interesting picture even for those with little knowledge of the area. I'm not convinced the oil paintings pictured in the early part of the text have any place in this book, but on the whole this is a concise (even if over 400 pages) text which would be a great help to those looking into the long term view of alcohol in society.

I ordered this book because I have an interest in crowd management - crowds often consume alcohol and thus I wanted to be better informed on the place of alcohol within society and of course some of the policies pertaining to it. I found the book to be concise and yet informative. It provides a good overview, and does what it says on the tin; it discusses the science, the policy and public health. It discusses demographic, alcohol's relationship with disease and also its relationship with crime, ie how it affects crime rates. I certainly gleaned useful information from this book, and I would say that anyone looking at this title would be looking at it because they have some professional or academic interest in the subject, and I would definitely recommend it.

Precise chapters comprehensively cover and elaborate on the science and policy issues pertaining to alcohol today. Thoroughly referenced. I have to say, it's not very "exciting"; no colour, only grayscale, but really well written and evidence-based. This book would be appealing to anyone from a Department of Health Civil Servant doing research, to a med student writing an academic paper... to a university lecturer teaching cancer. It should certainly be on the bookshelf of every Member of Parliament and every GP.

I am so pleased to be able to review this title positively, as a truly excellent, and very readable resource which not only offers a fairly objective account of the public health issues, and impact of alcohol, but also the historical and socio-political contexts for its use and misuse. Unlike the more subjective often highly biased tomes that have evolved from the need to address the problems caused by alcohol dependency, usually inspired or written by people who have recovered from such dependency, this text has a sense of balance that enables it to be accessed by those people who like me react with some scepticism to the more personally invested, often evangelical, approach.The chapters take the form of quite short essays or reports that inform the reader and actually grab attention whilst retaining an academic approach to the subject matter of the chapter. The division of the book into nine parts is logical and helpful, allowing the reader to access material relevant to them very quickly. The parts are, respectively:Framing the Issues;Alcohol: chemistry and biology;Patterns of consumption;Alcohol: gender and age-related issues;Alcohol, injury and violence;Alcohol and cancer;Alcohol and non-malignant disease;Therapeutic aspects: current approaches;Alcohol policy.The identified market for the book is quite narrow and I think that anyone who has any interest in the subject could usefully buy and read this excellent title largely because there is so much diverse information that will appeal across many disciplines, both professional and lay reader.

Each chapter is a standalone article dealing with a different aspect of alcohol from art, history and literature to brewing, genetics and chemistry; it is a joy to see so much collected on the one topic in one volume and with such breadth. Everything has been written by a learned person, it is all well referenced and is beautifully put together with sharp black text on a good grade of white paper: you are going to be able to get a lot of use out of this.As someone without any higher education in science I admit to finding the scientific sections a struggle, they are sufficiently well written that I get the gist but I miss the deeper understanding, though as a reader can restrict their reading to those topics they find appealing this isn't a huge issue: there is so much here to keep an interested reader occupied. The sections dealing with the social side of drink were among the best I've come across, as they give clear, detailed and well-referenced explanations with no obvious bias or political motivation.Without doubt this is the best reference I have come across for alcohol and is a brilliant work for anyone interested in alcohol and a must have for anyone professionally involved with it.

I ordered this book because I have an interest in crowd management - crowds often consume alcohol and thus I wanted to be better informed on the place of alcohol within society and of course some of the policies pertaining to it.I found the book to be concise and yet informative. It provides a good overview, and does what it says on the tin; it discusses the science, the policy and public health. It discusses demographic, alcohol's relationship with disease and also its relationship with crime, ie how it affects crime rates.I certainly gleaned useful information from this book, and I would say that anyone looking at this title would be looking at it because they have some professional or academic interest in the subject, and I would definitely recommend it.

Precise chapters comprehensively cover and elaborate on the science and policy issues pertaining to alcohol today. Thoroughly referenced.I have to say, it's not very "exciting"; no colour, only grayscale, but really well written and evidence-based. This book would be appealing to anyone from a Department of Health Civil Servant doing research, to a med student writing an academic paper... to a university lecturer teaching cancer. It should certainly be on the bookshelf of every Member of Parliament and every GP.