The Wet and the Dry: A Drinker's Journey, is a book that will truly only engross a specific subset of drinker. Neither the casual drinker or raging alcoholic is bound to get much out of this, other than to find Lawrence Osborne a bit of a snob. For those who spend a bit more time pondering why they drink, or even, why they love to drink, it's an entertaining and well-written affair.

The book at times reads like a personal diary, an explanation for this and that, recollections of particular events and binges, even a bit of family reflection. At other times, it reads more like a travelogue, as Obsorne recounts many events into "dry" territory (places where drink is largely banned and frowned-upon, at the very least), as he searches for his oasis (alcohol... the "wet"). He interacts with the drinker and non-drinker alike in some attempt to understand why some seem to love the drink as they do, while others meet it with seeming universal disdain.

Some may see drinking and alcoholism as being entirely depressing. Osborne's take is much more torn (and realistic), noting plenty of the evils of drink, as well as its liberations. This isn't the stark black and white portrayal of drink popular culture likes to paint, but rather a piece written in endless shades of gray written by one who happens to be right in the middle of it, navigating from one gradient to the other. I enjoy drink and see it as an intrinsic part of culture (and the lack of drink and the reasons why are just as evident in culture as the love of it). I may be just another borderline alcoholic looking for validation in pages written by another, but I enjoyed reading this and have since recommended it to more of my ilk.

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