From the Irish monks who spread brewing techniques, and Christianity, across Europe, to how beer prompted Martin Luther's Theses, to its role as a sports drink in the Tour de France, Down Beer Street is the history of the world as seen through a pint glass. Discover the decisive role beer has had in the course of history, how it is central to many European cultures and customs, how it has inspired art, and even brought armies together in a cease fire in the midst of a world war. The history of beer stretches back as far as humans have engaged in agriculture, and it has been a basic food as long as bread. From ancient Mesopotamia to the spread of Christianity and abbey beers throughout Europe, up to Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution and the financial crisis of 2008, this history of the world has a frothy head.

“[Bartels] takes us on a fascinating bar crawl across the country, explaining the history of America’s cocktail and drinking culture along the way.” —Wylie Dufresne, chef and owner of Du’s Donuts The United States of Cocktails is a celebration of the cocktail history of every state in America. After traveling this great nation and sampling many of the drinks on offer, cocktail authority Brian Bartels serves up a book that is equal parts recipe collection, travelogue, historical miscellany, bartender’s manual, and guide to bar culture today—with bar and drink recommendations that are sure to come in handy whether or not you are crossing state lines. Delving into the colorful stories behind the creation of drinks we love, this book includes more than 100 recipes alongside spirited analysis of each state’s unique contributions to cocktail culture. Filled with colorful illustrations, The United States of Cocktails is an opinionated and distinctively designed love letter to the spirits, bars, and people who have created and consumed the iconic drinks that inspire us and satisfy our thirst. “You could hardly ask for a more personable guide than Brian Bartels. He knows the oldest bars, the coolest bars, the can’t-miss bars and the oddest local quaffs in all 50 states, so you’ll never make the mistake of ordering a Whiskey Ditch in Louisiana or search for Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy on an Arizona back bar.” —Robert Simonson, author of The Old-Fashioned “Brian Bartels is a spirits traveler extraordinaire and this informative, highly-entertaining book is my new go-to guide for the most social of vices—drinkin’.” —Greg Mottola, director of Superbad, Adventureland, and The Newsroom

Two comedy writers race each other around the world—no planes allowed—in this hilarious true travelogue that “reads like a 300-page Simpsons episode” (Wired). It started as a friendly wager: two old friends from the Harvard Lampoon, Steve Hely and Vali Chandrasekaran, now hotshot Hollywood comedy writers, challenged each other to a race around the globe in opposite directions. There was only one rule: no airplanes. The first man to cross every line of longitude and arrive back in L.A. would win a very expensive bottle of Scotch and infamy. But little did one racer know that the other planned to cheat him out of the big prize by way of a ride on a quarter-million-dollar jet pack. From the West Bank to the Aleutian Islands, the slums of Rio to the steppes of Mongolia, traveling by ocean freighter and the Trans-Siberian Railway (pranking each other mercilessly along the way), Vali and Steve plunge eagerly and ill-preparedly into global adventure in a comic travelogue unlike any other, an outrageous tale of two gentlemen travelers who can’t wait to don baggy cardigan sweaters, clench corncob pipes between their teeth, and yell at their sons, “You lazy bums! When we were your age, we raced around the world without airplanes!” “Riotous fun.” —People Magazine “Hilarious.” —Entertainment Weekly “This is one of the funniest books I’ve read in years.” —The Arizona Republic

From One End of the Rainbow: A Story about the Life Inside the Irish Defence Forces and Beyond is about how the truth can be clouded by what's perceived as reality. With the "truth," everybody is blameless. There are no "fall guys" - no victims, no reason, no justice - just a carefully woven sequence of events with no beginning and no end that will stand the test of time. Thirty-two years later, the "truth" is confronted with reality. The whole panoramic consequences of that takes its toll on the conscience and raises its head to be exposed in its very raw format. This invites the reader to determine the real truth, be the judge and the jury, and pass sentence. It exposes the real "politics" of the Government. How in fact the "privileged" are protected at all costs. It ascribes the destitute feeling of betrayal that eats into the very vertebrae of the real meaning of military life. The book also gives an insight into daily military life, the characters, the routine, and the effect it has on family life. Being a soldier is a vocation that can only be compared to religious life, because the feeling is the same when you retire. The reality is, an old soldier never dies.

A chronicle of Adams’s rise from alt-country to rock stardom, featuring stories about the making of the albums Strangers Almanac and Heartbreaker. Before he achieved his dream of being an internationally known rock personality, Ryan Adams had a band in Raleigh, North Carolina. Whiskeytown led the wave of insurgent-country bands that came of age with No Depression magazine in the mid-1990s, and for many people it defined the era. Adams was an irrepressible character, one of the signature personalities of his generation, and as a singer-songwriter he blew people away with a mature talent that belied his youth. David Menconi witnessed most of Whiskeytown’s rocket ride to fame as the music critic for the Raleigh News & Observer, and in Ryan Adams, he tells the inside story of the singer’s remarkable rise from hardscrabble origins to success with Whiskeytown, as well as Adams’s post-Whiskeytown self-reinvention as a solo act. Menconi draws on early interviews with Adams, conversations with people close to him, and Adams’s extensive online postings to capture the creative ferment that produced some of Adams’s best music, including the albums Strangers Almanac and Heartbreaker. He reveals that, from the start, Ryan Adams had a determined sense of purpose and unshakable confidence in his own worth. At the same time, his inability to hold anything back, whether emotions or torrents of songs, often made Adams his own worst enemy, and Menconi recalls the excesses that almost, but never quite, derailed his career. Ryan Adams is a fascinating, multifaceted portrait of the artist as a young man, almost famous and still inventing himself, writing songs in a blaze of passion. “Menconi, a veteran music critic based in Raleigh, North Carolina, had a front row seat for alt-country wunderkind Ryan Adams’ rise to prominence—from an array of local bands, to Whiskeytown, and on to a successful and prolific solo career. Here, Menconi enthusiastically revisits those heady days when the mercurial Adams’ performances were either transcendent or tantrum-filled—the author was there for most of them, and he packs his book with tales of magical performances and utterly desperate train wrecks. . . . This interview- and anecdote-laden exposé of the artist's early career will doubtless find a happy home with Adams fans.” —Publishers Weekly

Beer Lover's Mid-Atlantic features regional breweries, brewpubs and beer bars in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland for those looking to seek out and celebrate the best brews--from bitter seasonal IPAs to rich, dark stouts. With quality beer producers popping up all over the nation, you don't have to travel very far to taste great beer; some of the best stuff is brewing right in the Mid-Atlantic. This comprehensive guides covers the entire beer experience for the proud, local enthusiast and the traveling visitor alike, including information on: - brewery and beer profiles with tasting notes- brewpubs and beer bars- events and festivals- food and brew-your-own beer recipes- city trip itineraries with bar crawl maps- regional food and beer pairings

A New York Times Best Seller A full-color, lushly illustrated graphic novel that recounts the many-layered past and present of beer through dynamic pairings of pictures and meticulously researched insight into the history of the world's favorite brew. The History of Beer Comes to Life! We drink it. We love it. But how much do we really know about beer? Starting from around 7000 BC, beer has emerged as a major element driving humankind’s development, a role it has continued to play through today’s craft brewing explosion. With The Comic Book Story of Beer, the first-ever nonfiction graphic novel focused on this most favored beverage, you can follow along from the very beginning, as authors Jonathan Hennessey and Mike Smith team up with illustrator Aaron McConnell to present the key figures, events, and, yes, beers that shaped and frequently made history. No boring, old historical text here, McConnell’s versatile art style—moving from period-accurate renderings to cartoony diagrams to historical caricatures and back—finds an equal and effective partner in the pithy, informative text of Hennessey and Smith presented in captions and word balloons on each page. The end result is a filling mixture of words and pictures sure to please the beer aficionado and comics geek alike.