William Faulkner is supposed to have said that civilization begins with distillation, but Adam Rogers isn’t having it. “I’d push even farther,” he writes in his new book Proof , “beyond just distilled spirits to wine, beer, sake…all of it. Booze is civilization in a glass.” Rogers argues that understanding humanity’s relationship with alcohol is about understanding, well, everything, really: chemistry, biology, cultural norms, even the origins of civilization. Readers of Wired magazine, where he is articles editor, will recognize the tone: approachable, witty, and a bit obsessive.
Proof expands upon Rogers’ 2011 article “ The Angel’s Share ” about...
