{"product_id":"drunk-how-we-sipped-danced-and-stumbled-our-way-to-civilization-9780316453387","title":"Drunk: How We Sipped  Danced  and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn \"entertaining and enlightening\" deep dive into the alcohol-soaked origins of civilizationand the evolutionary roots of humanitys appetite for intoxication (Daniel E. Lieberman  author of Exercised). While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants  none have offered a comprehensive  convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place. Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous  scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Drawing on evidence from archaeology  history  cognitive neuroscience  psychopharmacology  social psychology  literature  and genetics  Drunk shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake  as we are so often told. In fact  intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity  alleviating stress  building trust  and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers. Our desire to get drunk  along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness  played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication. From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies  blind cave fish  and problem-solving crows  Drunk is packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science  as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanitys oldest indulgenceone that explains not only why we want to get drunk  but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45789762027573,"sku":"ByrdShop_0316453382","price":22.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780316453387.jpg?v=1784697020","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/drunk-how-we-sipped-danced-and-stumbled-our-way-to-civilization-9780316453387","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}