The Drunken Monkey: Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol

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.

• How Humans Evolved (Seventh Edition)
• Essentials of Physical Anthropology (Third Edition)
• How Humans Evolved (Sixth Edition)
• Proof: The Science of Booze
• Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages
• Drinking in America: Our Secret History
• The Woman in the Zoot Suit: Gender, Nationalism, and the Cultural Politics of Memory
• The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State
• The Science of Drinking: How Alcohol Affects Your Body and Mind