Book Review: Proof: The Science of Booze

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Proof: The Science of Booze
by Adam Rogers
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014

Wine lovers, beer hounds, whiskey connoisseurs and even teetotalers are all likely to find something to interest them in this look at the science of liquor. Journalist Rogers follows “a sip of booze on a birth to death journey via your tummy,” delving into the biochemistry of fermentation and distillation, the history of alcohol production, and the physiological and psychological effects of drinking. To tell his tale, he makes pilgrimages to Scottish whiskey distilleries, storied cocktail bars in New York City's Chinatown and the laboratories of mixologists, who deploy complex chemistry equipment in pursuit of the perfect drink.

 


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Clara Moskowitz is chief of reporters at Scientific American, where she covers astronomy, space, physics and mathematics. She has been at Scientific American for more than a decade; previously she worked at Space.com. Moskowitz has reported live from rocket launches, space shuttle liftoffs and landings, suborbital spaceflight training, mountaintop observatories, and more. She has a bachelor’s degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University and a graduate degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

More by Clara Moskowitz
Scientific American Magazine Vol 310 Issue 5This article was published with the title “Proof” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 310 No. 5 (), p. 76
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0514-76d

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