Overview

Questions about drink - how it is used, how it should be regulated and the social risks it presents - have been a source of sustained and heated dispute in recent years. In The politics of alcohol, Nicholls puts these concerns in historical context by providing a detailed and extensive survey of public debates on alcohol from the introduction of licensing in the mid-sixteenth century through to recent controversies over 24-hour licensing, binge drinking and the cheap sale of alcohol in supermarkets. In doing so, he shows that concerns over drinking have always been tied to broader questions about national identity, individual freedom and the relationship between government and the market. He argues that in order to properly understand the cultural status of alcohol we need to consider what attitudes to drinking tell us about the principles that underpin our modern, liberal society. The politics of alcohol presents a wide-ranging, accessible and critically illuminating guide to the social, political and cultural history of alcohol in England. Covering areas including law, public policy, medical thought, media representations and political philosophy, it will provide essential reading for anyone interested in either the history of alcohol consumption, alcohol policy or the complex social questions posed by drinking today. -- .

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9780719077050

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Reviews

This introductory conceptualisation of his subject is constantly referred back to as the reader progresses through the chronological chapters and serves to give shape and meaning to a considerable amount of information. ... Nicholls has succeeded in producing an accessible introduction to the drink question in all its complexity. -- .

This introductory conceptualisation of his subject is constantly referred back to as the reader progresses through the chronological chapters and serves to give shape and meaning to a considerable amount of information. -- Paul Jennings. Cultural and Social History ... Nicholls has succeeded in producing an accessible introduction to the drink question in all its complexity. -- Paul Jennings. Cultural and Social History

'This is an exciting account of how public, professional and political discourses on alcohol reveal underlying tensions around fundamental questions of individual freedom, the control of free markets, the relationship between the state and industry, and the cultural and political attitudes which have helped to shape alcohol policy across the centuries. The book successfully traces common themes through different historical periods to the present time as well as identifying key changes in the politics of alcohol. Written in an accessible manner, the book offers a valuable insight into current alcohol debates.' Dr Betsy Thom, Head of Social Policy Research Centre; Reader in Drug and Alcohol Studies at Middlesex University and Co-ordinating editor of the journal *Drugs: education, prevention and policy*

Author Information

James Nicholls is Senior Lecturer in the School of Historical and Cultural Studies at Bath Spa University

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