It's an interesting premise to study one city and it's relationship to alcoholic beverages. Arranged roughly in chronological order, Schorow covers the following topics: Colonial taverns, saloons for immigrant communities, the role of bars in ward politics, several chapters on Prohibition, the golden age of night clubs (1930s-1950s), neighborhood bars, and the present day revival of the fancy cocktail. Schorow takes particular interest in the Ward Eight, a cocktail invented in Boston with fascinating and contradictory stories of it's origin, although most people admit it's not a very good cocktail. The book is filled with stories and anecdotes, but does not cohere as whole. I enjoyed reading it but I can understand criticisms of other readers who did not feel engaged by the material. ( )