1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813646703321

Autore

Dudley Robert <1961->

Titolo

The drunken monkey : why we drink and abuse alcohol / / Robert Dudley

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, [California] ; ; Los Angeles, California ; ; London, England : , : University of California Press, , 2014

©2014

ISBN

0-520-95817-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (179 p.)

Disciplina

394.1/3

Soggetti

Drinking of alcoholic beverages

Alcohol - Physiological effect

Alcoholism

Human evolution

Primates - Evolution

Human physiology

Monkeys - Physiology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Prologue -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Fruits of Fermentation -- 3. On the Inebriation of Elephants -- 4. Aping About in the Forest -- 5. A First-Rate Molecule -- 6. Alcoholics Aren't Anonymous -- 7. Winos in the Mist -- Postscript -- Sources and Recommended Reading -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Alcoholism, as opposed to the safe consumption of alcohol, remains a major public health issue. In this accessible book, Robert Dudley presents an intriguing evolutionary interpretation to explain the persistence of alcohol-related problems. Providing a deep-time, interdisciplinary perspective on today's patterns of alcohol consumption and abuse, Dudley traces the link between the fruit-eating behavior of arboreal primates and the evolution of the sensory skills required to identify ripe and fermented fruits that contain sugar and low levels of alcohol. In addition to introducing this new theory of



the relationship of humans to alcohol, the book discusses the supporting research, implications of the hypothesis, and the medical and social impacts of alcoholism. The Drunken Monkey is designed for interested readers, scholars, and students in comparative and evolutionary biology, biological anthropology, medicine, and public health.