The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker's Journey, Paperback

Selected as a Top Ten Book of the Year by Dwight Garner, New York Times

A "fearlessly honest account" (Financial Times) of man's love of drink, and an insightful meditation on the meaning of alcohol consumption across cultures worldwide

Drinking 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 Osborne--a veritable connoisseur himself--has 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.

A celebrated novelist and journalist, LAWRENCE OSBORNE is the author of six travel narratives, and a novel, The Forgiven. His latest novel, The Ballad of a Small Player is out in April 2014. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal Magazine, the New Yorker, Forbes, Harper's, and several other publications. He lives in New York City and Bangkok.