The great escape

A lively history of alcohol extols the virtues of social drinking

- Michael Cooper

We are inveterate pleasure seekers, promiscuously grabbing little jolts of ecstasy whenever and wherever we can," believes Edward Slingerland, a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Drawing on evidence from history, anthropology, literature, genetics, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology and social psychology, Slingerland argues that our desire to get drunk "played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first largescale societies. We would not have civilisation without intoxication." In Drunk, a punchy, witty, very easyreading book, he ponders just why humans crave a drink. By "enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to co-operate with strangers", intoxication has helped to solve several basic human challenges, he writes.

About four in every five New Zealand adults drink alcoholic beverages.