Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis - Hardcover

Amis, Kingsley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1596915285 ISBN 13: 9781596915282

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2008

Synopsis

Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject: Kingsley Amis on Drink, Everyday Drinking, and How's Your Glass? In one handsome package, the book covers a full shelf of the master's riotous and erudite thoughts on the drinking arts: Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) are Amis's musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man's Diet, The Mean Sod's Guide, and (presumably as a matter of speculation) How Not to Get Drunk-all leavened with fun quizzes on the making and drinking of alcohol all over the world. Mixing practical know-how and hilarious opinionation, this is a delightful cocktail of wry humor and distilled knowledge, served by one of our great gimlet wits.

About this title

About the Author:

Kingsley Amis was one of the best-respected British novelists of the mid-20th century. He was the author of more than 20 novels, including the classic Lucky Jim. He died in 1995 at the age of 73.

Review:

“These books are so delicious they impart a kind of contact high; they make you feel as if you've just had the first sip of the planet's coldest, driest martini...A reminder of how good all of Amis's writing was about being what he called a "drink-man": smart, no-nonsense and, above all else, charming...you finish this book believing that [alcohol] added more to his life than it took away. [Everyday Drinking] deserves to be rediscovered.” ―Dwight Garner, New York Times

“There has never been a more charming, erudite, eager, generous and devoted lover of drink--to judge by his writing--than Kingsley Amis.” ―The New York Times Book Review

“With spirits, as with movies, there exists a breed of critic who both illuminates and entertains and, consequently, is worth reading. Kingsley Amis falls into that category -- a great comic wit, Amis' writings (both fiction and non) about alcohol are among the very best.” ―Washington Times

“Back in print at last, Bloomsbury having gathered into one delightful volume under the title "Everyday Drinking" that's now hitting bookstore shelves. It is essential reading for any literate bibber.” ―Wall Street Journal

“It's refreshing to see an artifact from a more hedonistic era....Amis' quips and gripes about noisy pubs, vodka drinkers, wine snobs, teetotalers, and hangovers grow more delicious with age.” ―Booklist

“Among Amis's literary output the journalism on drinking, recently collected and published with an introduction by (who else?) Christopher Hitchens, is in no way the least achievement because it is a reminder and a record of a culture that is incrementally slipping away....Like a bottle of Laphroaig, this book is full of good things, many of them familiar though others are more intriguing.” ―New Humanist

“Studded with hilarious observations and much good advice. ” ―Kyle Smith

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1596915285
• ISBN 13: 9781596915282
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320