George Will: SBJ Says Beer Is Good For You

Our busy family trip to Northern California last week meant that I didn't get a chance to link to George Will's excellent (and very flattering) column about beer and civilization, "Survival of the Sudsiest":

The development of civilization depended on urbanization, which depended on beer. To understand why, consult Steven Johnson's marvelous 2006 book, "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World." It is a great scientific detective story about how a horrific cholera outbreak was traced to a particular neighborhood pump for drinking water.

I like how he extends the Everything Bad Is Good For You theme all the way into Ghost Map. (I'm ashamed to say I have a comparable riff about coffee in the new book.) By the way, anyone interested in reading more about beverages and world history should read the superb A History Of The World In Six Glasses.

I've also been chuckling about the fact that I've been quoted now in columns by George Will and David Brooks in the same month. I am seriously going to start losing credibility at the Park Slope Food Co-Op.

 

Comments

[Sprizouse]

Gladwell wrote a great piece on coffee and how it either created (or at least coincided) with the industrial age. I aped his article for a magazine column I wrote in 2005 as well (maybe I'll re-post to my blog).

My work mostly concentrated on the effects of over-caffeinating (more than 300mg per day can be pretty damaging) but the lack of labeling. Caffeine levels in a Venti regular at Starbucks vary from 250mg to 550mg (depends on beans, brewing and all that).

Well anyway, I love your work, look forward to the new book and I wanted to know how can I get tix for your Drexel appearance?

Link to Gladwell's Article:
http://www.gladwell.com/2001/2001_07_30_a_java.htm

[ben]

Personally, I prefer the very sensible Bamforth opinion of the beer/civilization nexus. Rather than Standage's 'left over cultivated grain was used to make beer' you've got the 'beer needed grain so people stopped wandering and started growing grains' idea. Much cooler.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=ales-well-with-the-world

[Michael]

Bamforth's jokes about hunter gatherers settling down to brew beer aren't as funny as Dave Barry's interpretation of beer's overall legacy:

Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.

[Propecia]

Beer truly is the greatest invention. I have actually read studies that show that one or two beers a day is actually good for your heart. Lets not confuse things though, I did say one or two. Trying to drink more per day to improve the heart will not have the same affect.

[Don Ball]

Now all you need is a Bill Kristol mention and you'll win the trifecta! Congrats on the positive press. It's well deserved.

[Oliver Morton]

Your link to Tom Standage's book is bust:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802714471/

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