The Drunken Monkey Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol

179 Pages·2014·10.76 MB·English

by  Robert Dudley

The Drunken Monkey
Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol
Robert Dudley
university of california press
Berkeley Los Angeles London
The Drunken Monkey
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The Drunken Monkey
Why We Drink and Abuse Alcohol
Robert Dudley
university of california press
Berkeley Los Angeles London
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
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University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2014 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dudley, Robert, 1961–.
The drunken monkey : why we drink and abuse
alcohol / Robert Dudley.
pages cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-27569-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-95817-3 (e-book)
1. Drinking of alcoholic beverages. 2. Alcohol—
Physiological ef ect. 3. Alcoholism. 4. Human
evolution. 5. Primates—Evolution. 6. Human
physiology. 7. Monkeys—Physiology. I. Title.
gt2884.d84 2014
394.1′3—dc23 2013033162
Manufactured in the United States of America
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 2002)
(Permanence of Paper).
To the late Ted Dudley
gentleman, scholar, alcoholic
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contents
List of Illustrations ix
Prologue xi
Acknowledgments xv
1. Introduction 1
2. The Fruits of Fermentation 11
3. On the Inebriation of Elephants 34
4. Aping About in the Forest 51
5. A First-Rate Molecule 69
6. Alcoholics Aren’t Anonymous 88
7. Winos in the Mist 115
Postscript 137
Sources and Recommended Reading 141
Index 149
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illustrations
figures
1. Biochemical action of ADH and ALDH enzymes 41
2. Relative risk of mortality for the fruit fl y as a function of exposure
to alcohol vapor 45
3. Relative risk of mortality in relation to alcohol consumption by
modern humans 47
4. Phylogeny of extant apes, with relative extent of frugivory in each
group 62
5. Menu with food and alcohol listings 86
plates
Following p. 48
1. Assortment of rainforest fruits from Barro Colorado Island
2. The palm Astrocaryum standleyanum in the rainforest of Barro
Colorado Island
3. Fruits of varying ripeness on an infructescence of the rubiaceous
shrub Psychotria limonensis
ix