This Month

To toast the highs and lows of hitting the sauce, this month we bring you a selection of books on booze. Our picks confirm that while stylish tippling is apt to make you feel young, sleek, and full of hell, a lifetime of hitting the bottle frequently leaves one at rock bottom. Caroline Knapp's harrowing memoir of her addiction clearly illustrates the latter point, and mixes well with champion lush Charles Bukowski's boozy magnum opus. Hans Fallada's spare and devastating novel depicts the inner turmoil of a man who takes refuge in alcoholism amid the troubles of wartime Germany, while Graham Greene's immortal whiskey priest trades in baptisms and brandy. A couple of more recent books salute the sunnier side of spirits, and help make our love affair with these depressants seem less, well, depressing. Here's to strong drink, and good books.