Drunk

How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization

By: Edward Slingerland

Narrated by: Tom Parks

A "entertaining and enlightening" deep dive into the alcohol-soaked origins of civilization—and the evolutionary roots of humanity’s appetite for intoxication. (Daniel E. Lieberman, author of Exercised)

While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants, none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place.

Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication.

From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies, blind cave fish, and problem-solving crows, Drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science, as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence—one that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 by Edward Slingerland. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Absorbing...Slingerland makes a compelling case that human societies have been positively shaped by alcohol.”―The Wall Street Journal

“A spirited look at drinking”―Kirkus

“A witty and well-informed narrator, Slingerland ranges across a wide range of academic fields to make his case. Readers will toast this praiseworthy study.”―Publishers Weekly

Not what I expected, but in a good way.

I would highly recommend this title if you want to learn more about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants throughout history. The author analyzes the topic of intoxicants through different lenses including history, anthropology, social science, and neuroscience. He makes a great case that humans thrived through social learning, and the use of intoxicants like alcohol helped foster the process of social learning and bonding. He uses the ancient Greek God Dionysus as a metaphor for the effects of alcohol where it can either be a source of joy or chaos. At the time of the book's release alcohol consumption has been declining, so it would be interesting to see what the long-term effects might be, though it will be hard to tell.

Great content; mediocre narrator

The content of the book is not only historically fascinating, but a welcome pushback against all of the modern finger-waggers who would have you believe that even a single drop of alcohol is going to wreck your life. Moderate drinking in social situations has vast social benefits, and if you haven’t experienced them for yourself, you’re missing some of the best that life has to offer.
The narrator, unfortunately, is obviously reading throughout the presentation, as evidenced by his constant over-enunciation of prepositions (especially “to”) and other short words which should be slightly slurred/blurred into following words when speaking naturally.

Brilliant and illuminating

A truly fascinating book about a borderline taboo topic, the benefits (as we as the harms) of the human drive for intoxication. Linking science and anthropology with stories and verse it's a great listen and deeply illuminating.

A balanced, well-researched account of alcohol

I’ve been taking my time digesting this audiobook for about a year, just savoring it, and the wealth of information it has to offer. It is not a light read but well worth the journey. I came looking for a book about alcohol, but I ended up learning so much more - like what it means to be human (perspectives from psychology, sociology, anthropology). I highly recommend this book and greatly appreciate the discussion of both the benefits of alcohol (creativity, bonding) and the harms of alcohol (marginalization and violence). Overall well-balanced, well-researched, and enlightening

Strong focus on sex

I love listening to nonfiction and thought this book on alcohol would be an interesting listen between work and home but there is a strong focus on sex and the relation between alcohol and it. Not what I wanted to listen to and definitely not something I wanted playing at work.