false 2337823 2 Here we go. Gene "The Contrary Farmer" Logsdon has taken on some controversial subjects in his time, but this time he has bitten off ("sipped on" doesn’t sound right) a topic bound to raise strong feelings on both sides of society’s moral boundary lines. His subject is alcohol and its traditional role on the family homestead. Not surprisingly, Gene speaks the bare-naked truth, and finds a lot more good than bad to say about booze. Alcohol has historically played a significant role in agricultural life. In colonial times it was the most "liquid" alternative to hard currency as a means of exchange. Alcohol was the most reliable, safest, and most convenient way to store the grain harvest, and was an integral commodity on nearly every farmstead. Because it was so valued--does this surprise us?--the government muscled in, looking for its own piece of the action. George Washington was the first of many politicians to regulate alcohol as a means to generate revenues and gain political control. Good Spirits is a rare and brave revisionist view of history. Logsdon is a master at exposing the absurdity of the commonplace. Does it really make sense that the government can make it illegal for us to combine common substances (grain, water, and yeast) on our own property? Can it be true that every war effort in the nation’s history has been fueled literally and figuratively by alcohol and the tax revenues it produces? Why must the farmer fund the government that oppresses him? In between good-natured tirades, Logsdon makes sure the reader learns some valuable lessons. He tells us how to make beer; he teaches the rudiments of distilling; he interviews Booker Noe (patron of America’s First Family of bourbon) to tell us how to sip and tell; and he adds lively tales from alcohol’s quasi-legitimate past. This is vintage Contrary Farmer: 100-proof, single-barrel select. Good Spirits is outrageous, entertaining, enlightening, and an eye-poppingly interesting, natural and holistic look at the role of alcohol. You will savor this book like a snifter of Calvados, the double-distilled apple brandy of Normandy that evaporates on the tongue like a heavenly ambrosia. Heady stuff, but delicious when consumed in moderation. 766470 12 1999 Good Spirits: A New Look at Ol' Demon Alcohol total:7|5:3|4:1|3:3|2:0|1:0| 7 28 16 0 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 5 0 false Wed Nov 25 08:32:36 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 25 08:32:36 -0800 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Tue Oct 20 18:25:37 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 18:25:37 -0700 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Fri Aug 21 09:35:34 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 09:35:34 -0700 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Sat Jul 04 05:25:31 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 05:25:31 -0700 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Mon Jun 01 10:46:12 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 14:14:28 -0700 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 3 0 false Mon Jun 22 10:44:47 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 06:22:50 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 10:44:47 -0700 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Thu Jan 22 12:13:56 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 12:13:56 -0800 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 3 0 false Sun Jan 25 11:18:21 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 12:14:18 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 11:18:21 -0800 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 5 0 false Fri Jan 09 14:33:13 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 14:33:13 -0800 2009 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Thu Nov 13 07:20:46 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 07:20:48 -0800 2008 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Sun Sep 14 11:50:06 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 11:50:06 -0700 2008 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 5 0 false Mon Sep 15 04:23:19 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 12:46:35 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 04:23:19 -0700 2008 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Thu Apr 24 23:15:22 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 30 15:25:14 -0700 2009 780444 1890132667 9781890132668 1 0 4.00 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178287166m/780444.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/780444.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 0 0 false Mon Feb 11 11:00:40 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 11 11:00:46 -0800 2008 2337823 1890132438 9781890132439 6 0 4.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2337823.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 4 0 false Tue Dec 18 05:25:16 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 18 05:25:16 -0800 2007 780444 1890132667 9781890132668 1 0 4.00 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178287166m/780444.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/780444.Good_Spirits_A_New_Look_at_Ol_Demon_Alcohol 3 0 false Wed Sep 19 11:36:14 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 11:36:14 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2337823