The Wet And The Dry

Zusatztext

<p>I am taking a few months off to travel and wander, drinking my way across the Islamic world to see whether I can dry myself out, cure myself of a bout of alcoholic excess. It is a personal crisis, a private curiosity I am curious to see how non-drinkers live. Perhaps they have something to teach me.</p><p>Booze is mankind's premier drug of choice, the most popular mind-altering substance ever devised, and it plays a furtive, celebrated and subversive role in nearly every culture on earth. In<i>The Wet and the Dry</i>, Lawrence Osborne explores the culture of permission, particularly in the West, and the opposing culture of prohibition, notably in the Islamic East.</p><p>Osbornes globe-trotting odyssey takes him from the luxurious bars of Milan to the vineyards of Lebanon, threatened by Hezbollah; from Swedish vodka to Pakistani strawberry gin; from the Nellie Dean pub in Soho to the dangerous brothels and drinking dens on the Malaysian border; from the boutique scotch produced on Islay to the liquor destroying Native American reservations; and from the only brewery in the dry country of Pakistan to the search for a bottle of New Years champagne in Oman. All the while, Osbornes own Irish family history of terrifying alcoholism fails to deter him from seeking out a drink wherever he can.</p>

Autorenportrait

Born in England,<b>Lawrence Osborne</b>is the author of the critically acclaimed novels The Forgiven, The Ballad of a Small Player, Hunters in the Dark and<i>Beautiful Animals.</i>His non-fiction ranges from memoir through travelogue to essays, including<i>Bangkok Days</i>,<i>Paris Dreambook</i>and<i>The Wet and the Dry.</i>His short story 'Volcano' was selected for<i>Best American Short Stories 2012,</i>and he has written<i></i>for the<i>New York Times Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler,</i>the<i>New Yorker, Forbes, Harpers</i>and other publications. He lives in Bangkok.

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