The Oxford Dictionary defines cocktail as any combination of diverse elements, especailly potent ones. Mondo Cocktail is as much about the potent elements of literature, history, sociology and business as it is about gin, scotch, vodka and rum. This is a unique, fun and informative narrative history of the cocktail.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Dobbs
Format:Hardcover
There are some really interesting tidbits in this book and I think it's a good read, most especially for some of the drink recipes (the one for Bourbon Sours is excellent). However, the author does tend to lose focus and ramble on about personal things that aren't even remotely as interesting as the non-personal anecdotes. In addition, when she refers to Allen Ginsberg as Allen Ginsburg and his famous poem as The Howl (it's just called Howl), her research talents (not to mention knowledge of things someone of her generation should be familiar with) are rather suspect. The rift between fact and error in that one example makes me seriously doubt the veracity of much of the book's other claims.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Ted Haigh
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Mondo Cocktail was an unexpected pleasure. I'm rather heavily invested in cocktail books, and a very small percentage of the ones in current distribution are worthy of their subject. Of those that are, I either know or have had some sort of interaction with all of their authors - at least I thought I had. I was woefully unaware of Christine Sismondo. Hers is a literary text, and that's a juxtaposition rarely found: the literary cocktail book. Like other nonfiction books of belletristic note, Mondo Cocktail draws from a wellspring of divergent citations, removed from the central (in this case) cocktail topic, and weaves them artfully into a persuasive narrative. It's both readable and sophisticated. It's also personal in that she stitches herself and her feelings about the subject into the larger tapestry, comfortably, but not self-consciously. She eschews the common stories with their predictable twists, instead opting for her own apparently depthy research. This personal approach invariably introduces elements in the writing with which I disagree, but what a fabulous time I had finding them.
By Zzoe
Format:Hardcover
It's not just about the recipes. This book weaved literature, history, culture together with alcohol to create an interesting and humorous book. It is light, yet academic in tone, interspersed with personal anecdotes. Since I am not an expert in the subjects of the books, I cannot speak to the accuracy of her research. However this is one of the most entertaining book I've read recently. I especially enjoyed the chapters on mojito, bourbon sour, and martini.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Try the Margarita!!
Best I've ever had. And I don't think the book was meant to be an academic history or anything as the other reviewers seemed to think - more of a humour book, really. I laughed. Read more
Published on January 31, 2006 by Frankie
2.0 out of 5 stars
Drink Recipes are Awful
I tend to agree with the last reviewer--the author's research is spotty at best, yet she speaks with such authority as to brook no disagreement. Read more
Published on December 31, 2005 by Duski
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