Hemingway & Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American ... (ISBN 1565124820)

Book Description:
Everyone has a favorite drink. Everyone has a favorite author. Hemingway & Bailey's Bartending Guide to Great American Writers mixes the two together in a spirited and altogether original guide to cocktails and the literary life. From Hemingway's Mojito to O'Neill's Gibson, from Kerouac's Margarita to Bukowski's Boilermaker, here is the perfect blend of classic cocktail recipes, literary history, and entertaining stories of the famous and the infamous among American literati. When Robert Benchley was asked if he knew that drinking was a slow death, Benchley took a sip of his cocktail and replied, "So who's in a hurry?" Hunter S. Thompson took Muhammad Ali's health tip to eat grapefruit every day; he just added vodka to the mix. Invited to a "come as you are" party, Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, arrived in their pajamas ready for their cocktail of choice: a Gin Rickey. Each beautifully illustrated entry includes a literary excerpt from the writer's work alongside a drink recipe, a biographical sketch, and a telling anecdote about life off the wagon. In short, Hemingway & Bailey's delivers straight-up fun.

Papa Ernie would be proud:
This is a wonderful addition to any library, whether you're teetotaller or someone who likes to tipple more than occasionally. It features wonderful bios of some of America's greatest writers, and the authors don't hide the warts. Each two-page tribute features a caricature, a brief bio and a memorable quote from each author, along with a list of important works, an excerpt from a signature work, and - very important for a "bartending guide" - a recipe for each author's favorite cocktail. Author Mark Bailey and illustrator Edward Hemingway (yes, Papa's grandson!) do a great job putting together this guide. A must-have addition for your library, whether you consider yourself a fan of great literature, or just someone who would like to hoist a few with any of the writers featured in this tome.

Literature and alcohol-- it just makes sense:
Combine one shot of booze, four ounces of Great American Writers, and garnish heavily with several tales of drunken exploits. What you get is a tidy little book that'll knock your socks off. This isn't exactly a cocktail recipe book. It's not really a literature anthology, either. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I do know that it's one of the most enjoyable books I've bought in the past year or two. In a nutshell, Bailey and Hemingway were sitting in a bar one night, remembering the good old days when authors found their ideas at the bottom of a bottle. So as a tribute to the great author-drinkers 20th Century, they mixed up this book. They picked out about 70 writers and paired them each with a real, no-fooling-around kind of drink. Then they selected a short excerpt from each author's work, and to round it out (and here's where the book gets really entertaining), there's a story of some drunken feat. As far as the drink recipes in this book go, I like every one of them that I've tried. No, it's not nearly a complete compilation of cocktails, but there's something for everybody here, whether you're a fan of the quick and harsh Boilermaker or the dainty French 75, the sophisticated Gimlet, or the casual Planter's Punch. Bottoms up!

Great Book for a Reading Club:
It might be said that behind every great author there is a great bottle. My guess is that in most cases the bottle is empty. This little book takes a look at how great american writers have produced so many empty bottles. For each author you will find: a drinking story, a drink recipe, and a paragraph or two from a representative work. The stories are fun. The drink recipes are spot on, simple and well done. I've mixed several and never had a complaint. I have about 10 of these sitting on top of the wine rack in the dining room. It's nice to hand one out to someone who's drinkin' what you're mixin'.

DRINK UP, READ UP!:
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL BOOK. It is a great gift for any interested in authors or mixing drinks ... or both. Small but packs a powerful punch.

Can't lose with this one:
I always wondered what Jack Kerouac's favorite drink was...and now I know thanks to Hemingway & Bailey's guide---and I even know how to mix it. A great idea and great execution!