Selected as a Top Ten Book of the Year by Dwight Garner, New York TimesA ';fearlessly honest account' (Financial Times) of man's love of drink, and an insightful meditation on the meaning of alcohol consumption across cultures worldwideDrinking alcohol: a beloved tradition, a dangerous addiction, even ';a sickness of the soul' (as once described by a group of young Muslim men in Bali). In his wide-ranging travels, Lawrence Osbornea veritable connoisseur himselfhas witnessed opposing views of alcohol across cultures worldwide, compelling him to wonder: is drinking alcohol a sign of civilization and sanity, or the very reverse? Where do societies fall on the spectrum between indulgence and restraint?An immersing, controversial, and often irreverent travel narrative, The Wet and the Dry offers provocative, sometimes unsettling insights into the deeply embedded conflicts between East and West, and the surprising influence of drinking on the contemporary world today.Now with an excerpt from Lawrence Osborne's latest novel, The Ballad of a Small Player.