While plenty of entertaining books have been written about the history of alcohol and other intoxicants, none have offered a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place. Drunk elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol. Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then. (This title may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.)