In Drunks: An American History, Christopher M. Finan traces the history of alcoholism in the United States from the colonial era through the Affordable Care Act. Each chapter focuses on a relatively self-contained example, though the overall narrative connects as Finan demonstrates how movements and ideas built upon each other.

He begins with an examination of Handsome Lake, a Seneca Indian who worked to encourage sobriety among his people. Describing the damage of alcohol to Indian communities, Finan writes, “Before they began to encounter European explorers and fishermen in the sixteenth century, very few indigenous people of the eastern coast of North America had ever tasted alcohol, and none had experienced anything more than the mild inebriation of fermented drinks used ceremonially. Nothing prepared them for the effects of distilled spirits” (pg. 10). Like some of the later movements Finan describes, community pressure worked best to encourage sobriety amongst Native American communities.

Demonstrating the connection between drinking culture and politics in the early republic, Finan writes, “Politicians in the early American republic were novices in the democratic arts, but it didn’t take them long to recognize that the shortest route to a man’s vote was through a shot glass” (pg. 46). To combat this, Washingtonian societies worked in a revival spirit, encouraging drunks to sign pledges in a manner resembling that of religious meetings during the Second Great Awakening. Even those who opposed spirituous liquors, however, often felt that beer and wine were healthy.

Finan writes of Benjamin Rush, “Rush did not expect people to stop drinking all alcoholic beverages. He considered beer healthful and supported removing the tax on it to encourage people to switch from rum and whiskey. He was also enthusiastic about wine” (pg. 59). Examining Carry Nation and Prohibition, Finan writes, “Some would even credit her with drawing national attention to the problem of saloons and leading the country toward Prohibition, which went into effect in January 1920. But the United States was already well along that road. By 1903, prohibitionists had succeeded in drying up many of the rural areas of the country. Thirty-five million people were living in places where it was no longer legal to buy a drink” (pg. 117). Despite the work of progressives to achieve prohibition, Finan concludes that it backfired as local and state governments cut funding to programs aiding drunks, believing that legal prohibition of alcohol ended the problem.

The second half of Finan’s work largely traces the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous, its growth, and influence on people from various walks of life, including Betty Ford, and other similar programs. In his final chapter, Finan describes the relevance of this study, writing, “As this book goes to press, the United States is in the midst of an epidemic of opioid addiction that killed 29,467 people in 2014. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has said that twenty-two million Americans are addicted to alcohol or drugs. Fifteen million are alcoholics; another three million are addicted to both alcohol and drugs, and four million are drug addicts” (pg. 282).

Drunks: An American History will primarily appeal to academics studying the history of addiction and recovery as well as those with an interest in their own recovery. Much of the work reads like historical context for AA’s Big Book. He demonstrates the long road from moral condemnation to a disease model of treatment and offers hope for the future as America continues to debate the manner in which it handles addiction. ( )

Catchy title. Finan has written a survey of America's long and sobering (sorry, couldn't resist) attempts to treat alcoholism. Among the topics covered: the devastating effects of introducing Native Americans to alcohol and the influence of Handsome Lake, a Seneca leader who rejected alcohol after receiving visions; the Washingtonian movement, a mostly forgotten precursor to Alcoholics Anonymous that had more than half a million members in the 1840s; the rise of the disease model of alcoholism in the latter part of the 1800s, resulting in the proliferation of sanitariums and "inebriate asylums"; the Keeley Institute and its "gold cure"; the effect of Prohibition on treatment; the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous; and changing methods of treatment in recent times. What's surprising is how recognizable early theories about alcoholism and attempts to treat it are to modern readers: that alcoholics can stop drinking if they're determined to; that they need and deserve help if they want to stop; that recovering alcoholics can support each other; that appeals to a higher power may work for some but not for others; conflicting ideas of alcoholism's causes and treatments—these concepts have been with us a long time. Ongoing descriptions of changes to groups, organizations, and committees makes for somewhat dry reading at times, but they do show thorough research. Not a substitute for William L. White's classic Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America (indeed, Finan acknowledges his debt to the earlier work) but a worthy supplement.

This is a history of the problem of alcoholism from the early days of our nation up to and including the present day. It’s frightening knowing how many alcoholics there are in this country. I’m not sure I ever knew nay alcoholics but I suspected a few acquaintances drank to much but seemed to function quite well.
The number of organizations throughout the history of our country is enough to boggle the imagination.
Many drunks died because there was no one to help and they were looked down upon as immoral.
The book gives a very good description of the various organizations and the methods they used to try to cure alcoholics. Bob Smith & Bill Wilson were both alcoholics who started Alcoholic Anonymous.
This book will open the eyes of the country to the huge problem which the country has with addiction not only to alcohol, but prescription & illegal drugs. ( )

Should have been great, but alas is dry, preachy and repetitive. Just couldn't stay interested long enough to pick it up again. Maybe I'll dip into it later on to see if anything sparks.

The title and book jacket promised more than I found in this history of alcohol use and abuse in America from earliest time through many a reform movement. While I may have been a little disappointed, there is much to be recommended here and it certainly makes an effort. Perhaps the author is too involved personally in the issue to allow for a more generous and encompassing history of booze. Still, I learned a lot and had more than a few discussions with the folks I passed this on to to say that I didn't enjoy it. There is another story to be told on the subject however. ( )