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Alcohol - 9781930461048

Un libro in lingua di Eric Newhouse edito da Lightning Source Inc, 2006

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The stories in the book are based on the yearlong Pulitzer-Prize-winning series in the Great Falls Tribune. There are two minor and two major themes.The first minor theme is a chapter exploring the prevalence of alcohol in Great Falls, a small town (about 60,000 people) that straddles the Missouri River. It was named after the Great Falls of the Missouri, which forced the Lewis & Clark Expedition to take a long hike two centuries ago. But a second river flows through the town, and it was the one that Newhouse wanted to explore—the river of booze trucked into town each day and sloshed down each night in the town's many watering holes.The second minor theme is a chapter explaining that alcoholism is a medical illness, and the genetic makeup of some people renders them unusually vulnerable to it. It removed much of the stigma of alcoholism and gave people the freedom to discuss their problems. With the exception of children, the book uses names and photos with the people's permission. This chapter is what made that possible.The first major theme is the human cost of alcohol abuse, and it ran from March through August. This is why we called the series, and the book, Alcohol: Cradle to Grave. Every newspaper editor and reporter sees the flotsam and jetsam of that unrecognized river of booze: the divorces, lost jobs, battered wives and children, crime, drunken drivers, car wrecks, medical bills. It's just that we're all so accustomed to this debris underfoot that we rarely wonder why it's there—or if it's necessary.The second major theme is the economic costs of alcohol abuse. These are hidden costs: things like workplace absenteeism due to hangovers, welfare payments to alcoholics, medical costs of elective drinking, and crime (DUIs, assaults, etc.). The costs of crime alone include damages, cops to catch the drunks, prosecutors and judges, courts and prisons.Instead of looking at a bunch of different bandages, Newhouse looks at the single gaping wound that this river of alcohol causes.

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