The Devil's Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit - Hardcover

Grescoe, Taras

3.88

634 ratings by Goodreads

9781582344294: The Devil's Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582344299 ISBN 13: 9781582344294

Publisher: Bloomsbury Pub Plc USA, 2005

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A journey into illicit pleasure the world over.

From Norwegian moonshine to the pentobarbital sodium sipped by suicide tourists in Switzerland—and,, in between, baby eels killed by an infusion of tobacco, a garlicky Spanish stew of bull's testicles, tea laced with cocaine, and malodorous French cheese—Taras Grescoe has written a travelogue of forbidden indulgences. As Grescoe crisscrosses the globe in pursuit of his quarry, he delves into questions of regional culture and repressive legislation—from the clandestine absinthe distillation in an obscure Swiss valley to the banning of poppy seed biscuits in Singapore—and launches into a philosophical investigation of what's truly bizarre: how something as fundamental as the plants and foods we consume could be so vilified and demonized.

An investigation into what thrills us, what terrifies us, and what would make us travel ten thousand miles and evade the local authorities, The Devil's Picnic is a delicious and compelling expedition into the heart of vice and desire.

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Review:

'Grescoe is insightful about the prejudices and moral panics underlying the urge to prohibit.' -- The Financial Times

'Grescoe turns in a thoughtful treatise on the politics, economics and sociology of prohibition...' -- Sunday Tribune

'Grescoe’s table of delights offers not just exotic sensation but clear and provocative thinking.' -- Sunday Tribune

'If you dislike being treated like a teenager by governments that routinely defend the...indefensible, than you are certain to enjoy' -- The New Statesman

'Taras Gresco’s book is a perceptive, witty analysis of the enduring folly that is prohibition.' -- The New Statesman

'When he isn’t busy offending the locals, Grescoe’s book produces some interesting factoids' -- The Daily Telegraph:

'While not a gung-ho libertarian, he is a firm believer in personal choice over the strictures of the nanny state.' -- The Financial Times

Grescoe is insightful about the prejudices and moral panics underlying the urge to prohibit. -- Financial Times

witty and intriguing expose that’s part travelogue, part political analysis -- Geographical

Book Description:

Never in history have we seemed to have such global freedom, such an opportunity to indulge our wildest tastes. We think we live in a time of unprecedented choice. But as Taras Grescoe discovers, this is just an illusion. In this witty expose our intrepid author goes in search of the things that the rulers of the world will punish you for trying – all the time asking the question: why, in ostensibly free states, should we be criminalized for behaviour that concerns no one but ourselves? In a travelogue that takes in Swiss absinthe, Cuban cigars, Bolivian coca tea and stinking French cheese, Taras Grescoe drinks, smokes and eats his way towards some answers. Fun, philosophical, and unafraid of the big questions, this is a journey for free-thinkers, not the faint-hearted. As insightful and outraged as Fast Food Nation and as funny and astute as Dude, Where’s My Country? , The Devil’s Picnic is a feast for anyone who has ever made a stand for personal liberty.

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