Proof, Adam Rogers
Proof, Adam Rogers
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Proof
The Science of Booze

Author: Adam Rogers

Narrator: Sean Runnette

Unabridged: 8 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/27/2014

Categories: Nonfiction, Science, Cooking

Synopsis

A spirited narrative on the fascinating art and science of alcohol sure to inspire cocktail party chats on making booze, tasting it, and its effects on our bodies and brains.Drinking gets a lot more interesting when you know what's actually inside your glass of microbrewed ale, single-malt whisky, or Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. All of them begin with fermentation, where a fungus called yeast binges on sugar molecules and poops out ethanol. Humans have been drinking the results for ten thousand years. Distillation is a two-thousand-year-old technology—invented by a woman—that we're still perfecting today. And the molecular codes of alcoholic flavors remain a mystery pursued by scientists with high-tech laboratories and serious funding.In Proof, Adam Rogers reveals alcohol as a miracle of science, going deep into the pleasures of making and drinking booze—and the effects of the latter. The people who make and sell alcohol may talk about history and tradition, but alcohol production is really powered by physics, molecular biology, organic chemistry, and a bit of metallurgy—and our taste for those products is a melding of psychology and neurobiology.Proof takes readers from the whisky-making mecca of the Scottish highlands to the oenology labs at UC Davis, from Kentucky bourbon country to the most sophisticated gene-sequencing labs in the world—and to more than one bar—bringing to life the motley characters and evolving science behind the latest developments in boozy technology.

About Adam Rogers

Adam Rogers is articles editor at Wired, where his feature story “The Angels’ Share” won the 2011 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. Before coming to Wired, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT and a writer covering science and technology for Newsweek.

About Sean Runnette

Sean Runnette, a multiple AudioFile Earphones Award winner, has produced several Audie Award-winning audiobooks. He is a member of the American Repertory Theater company and has toured internationally with Mabou Mines, an avant-garde theater company. Sean's television and film appearances include Two If by Sea, Copland, Sex and the City, Law & Order, Third Watch, and lots and lots of commercials, for which he apologizes.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Matt on May 23, 2021

Though medicine has consumed my academic pursuits for the better part of the last decade, my first university love was for biochemistry. In the labyrinth pathways and molecular constructs I found a field whose granular description of the natural world spoke a language I'd always wanted to hear. Whil......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on July 22, 2015

"He likes the warm feeling but he's tired of all the dehydration..." A very fun book for anybody interested in booze beyond "I like how it tastes." I found the first half of the book to be more engaging and more thorough than the second half (which is more about alcohol's effects on the body) but tha......more

Goodreads review by Roy on November 07, 2022

I have been on my fair share of brewery, winery, and distillery tours. Yet despite all of the explanations, videos, and tastings, I only managed to acquire a vague notion of how alcohol is really produced. Adam Rogers’s book promised to fill in all of the missing gaps in my understanding, and it del......more

Goodreads review by Leftbanker on January 03, 2016

For an added thrill I decided to read this book while drinking. This book is high entertainment and highly informative. We all should be more informed consumers of alcohol and you never know when you may need to know enough about the stuff to make it yourself. This book will give you a running start.......more

Goodreads review by Atila on July 31, 2014

Curti demais, fazia tempo que não lia um livro que contava tanta coisa nova e interessante. Como surgiram as bebidas, como acontece a fermentação, a destilação, o envelhecimento em barris, o consumo, a bebedeira e a ressaca. Vale por cada passo.......more

Quotes

“Rogers’ book has much the same effect as a good drink. You get a warm sensation, you want to engage with the wider world, and you feel smarter than you probably are. Above all, it makes you understand how deeply human it is to take a drink.” Wall Street Journal

“Lively…[Rogers’s] descriptions of the science behind familiar drinks exert a seductive pull.” New York Times

“A comprehensive, funny look at booze…Like the best of its subject matter Proof’’s blend of disparate ingredients goes down smooth, and makes you feel like an expert on the topic.” Discover

“Rogers gives booze a thorough going over, complete with good cheer, highbrow humor, and smarts.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Impressively reported and entertaining…when enjoyed in leisurely sips, Rogers’s cheeky and accessible writing style goes down smoothly, capturing the essence of this enigmatic, ancient social lubricant.” Publishers Weekly

“Rogers contends that the perfect alcoholic beverage represents a pinnacle in human achievement…Foodies will likely enjoy Rogers’ primer on the science behind alcohol, and other consumers of science journalism will savor his absorbing and enlightening account.” Library Journal

“Follow a single, microscopic yeast cell down a rabbit hole, and Alice, aka Adam, will take you on a fascinating romp through the wonderland of ethyl alcohol, from nature’s own fermentation to today’s best Scotch whiskies—and worst hangovers. This book is a delightful marriage of scholarship and fun.” Robert L. Wolke, author of What Einstein Kept Under His Hat

Awards

  • PEN Literary Award
  • Amazon Best Books of the Year
  • Guardian Best Book of the Year
  • Wired Magazine Pick
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