Alcohol and the Writer

Ernest Hemingway, a confirmed alcoholic, once dubbed alcohol as the "Giant Killer" of American letters and this fantastic study authored by Donald W. Goodwin, M.D., plumbs the depths of this issue. He provides "case studies" of 8 writers. The lives of Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Georges Simenon, Eugene O'Neill, Edgar Allen Poe, William Faulkner, and Malcolm Lowry are discussed and the difficulties that each men experienced with alcohol are recounted in clinical and often shuddering detail. Goodwin cites hard data where available and explores the relationship between the psychology of the creative artist and chemical dependency. This book also cites the plethora of journalism that has appeared throughout the 20th century by medical professionals and literary minds alike which have likewise sought to treat this issue with the unsparing honesty that it deserves. This slim volume holds multitudes and is an invaluable resource for devotees of these individual writers, lovers of great literature, and for creative artists who are perhaps struggling with their own chemical dependency issues. It strips the romance away from the image of the hard drinking writer who swills down his bourbon whilst producing a series of masterpieces. Furthermore, it is written with great love and respect for the power of literature and an equal amount of respect for the essential difficulties of the creative act. Highly recommended.