Audible Non-Fiction (Again): "History of Bourbon" and "English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable"

History of Bourbon by Ken Albala

First, a word from the publisher (which should spell out whether this work is up your alley or not): “This course traces bourbon’s entire history, from the 1700s, with Irish, Scottish, and French settlers setting up stills and making distilled spirits in the New World, through today’s booming resurgence.“

What Worked For Me:

In some ways, the work is incredibly thorough. It spends 3 full chapters talking about spirits and whiskey before drilling down to bourbon specifically. This includes the use of spirits as medicine and a way to extend one’s life
The work provides interesting insights into the economics of bourbon (e.g. how the Temperance movement gained some steam because of a lack of regulation, and thus, tampering with alcohol)
The author makes interesting observations about how context and societal perception of alcohol can change how people use and perceive it
In the final chapter, the author offers a variety of options for continued reading, from books to blogs

What Didn’t Work For Me:

Though the history provided is extensive, it only gives a passing mention of the contributions of people of color and almost no mention of women (except how advertisers have more-or-less failed to advertise to them directly). These mentions include the occasional passing thought to slavery (despite the fact that an entire chapter of the work is dedicated to bourbon and the Civil War).
Some might call this a nit-pick or a matter of personal taste, but nothing in the work really “wowed” me. Though the author / presenter is obviously very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject, the work didn’t really elicit a reaction from me beyond, “huh, neat.” Perhaps if I was more of a bourbon connoisseur my reaction would’ve been different.

Conclusion

It’s a perfectly fine distraction, especially for a free audiobook (with Audible subscription). If you’re interested in Bourbon (or the gamut of spirits and alcohols), this could be a great listen for you. If not, you won’t miss anything earth-shattering if you skip it.

Check it out .

English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable by Lacey Baldwin Smith

This book is what it purports to be, in that it discusses about 1,000 years of English history. Whether or not it is worthy of the moniker, “Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable,” however, is a different story.

What Worked For Me:

This book covers over 1,000 years of history in about 10 hours.
There are a few memorable quotes included in this book. One such quote is, “history is not what happened; it is what is worth remembering.”
The humor, while somewhat sparse, is subtle and appropriately targeted (i.e. it doesn’t punch down)

What Didn’t Work For Me:

With as quickly as the cast of characters changes in this book, I likely would’ve enjoyed it more if I was more familiar with British / European history
This book was less dry than the history books I grew up with, but not by much. For example, adding quips doesn’t hurt, but it can only do so much to, “liven up,” the content.
Though the audiobook was produced in 2017, the content of the book was produced about a decade prior. This means that all of the, “modern,” events discussed are considerably out-of-date.
[nit-pick] The chapter markers were extremely minimal in the audiobook, basically breaking down to a single chapter an hour (rather than corresponding with the flow of the book)

Conclusion:

I almost didn’t review this work, but I realized I wasn’t judging it on its own merits. It would be unfair, for example, to ask a history book that covers a millennium of history to also be character-driven. Granted, I also think calling it either short or pleasurable may be somewhat optimistic, but the author did well based on the material on hand to work with. Ultimately, I think your enjoyment of this book will boil down to expectations. If you want a historical drama, skip this one. On the other hand, if you want a history textbook with occasional sass and jokes, this may be the one for you.