Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine

by Stephen Braun

Alcohol and caffeine are deeply woven into the fabric of life for most of the world's population, as close and as comfortable as a cup of coffee or a can of beer. Yet for most people they remain as mysterious and unpredictable as the spirits they were once thought to be. Now, in Buzz , Stephen Braun takes us on a myth-shattering tour of these two popular substances, one that blends fascinating science with colorful lore, and that includes cameo appearances by Shakespeare and Balzac, Buddhist monks and Arabian goat herders, even Mikhail Gorbachev and David Letterman (who once quipped, "If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever").
Much of what Braun reveals directly contradicts conventional wisdom about alcohol and caffeine. Braun shows, for instance, that alcohol is not simply a depressant as popularly believed, but is instead "a pharmacy in a bottle"--mimicking the action of drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, valium, and opium. At low doses, it increases electrical activity in the same brain systems affected by stimulants, influences the same circuits targeted by valium, and causes the release of morphine-like compounds known as endorphins--all at the same time. This explains why alcohol can produce a range of reactions, from boisterous euphoria to dark, brooding hopelessness. Braun also shatters the myth that alcohol kills brain cells, reveals why wood alcohol or methanol causes blindness, and explains the biological reason behind the one-drink-per-hour sobriety rule (that's how long it takes the liver, working full tilt, to disable the 200 quintillion ethanol molecules found in a typical drink). The author
then turns to caffeine and shows it to be no less remarkable. We discover that more than 100 plant species produce caffeine molecules in their seeds, leaves, or bark, a truly amazing distribution throughout nature (nicotine, in comparison, is found only in tobacco; opium only in the poppy). It's not surprising then that caffeine is far and away the most widely used mind altering substance on the planet, found in tea, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, soft drinks, and more than 2,000 non-prescription drugs. (Tea is the most popular drink on earth, with coffee a close second.) Braun also explores the role of caffeine in Johann Sebastian Bach, for one, loved coffee so much he wrote a Coffee Cantata (as Braun notes, no music captures the caffeinated experience better than one of Bachs frenetic fugues), Balzac would work for 12 hours non-stop, drinking coffee all the while, and Kant, Rousseau, and Voltaire all loved coffee. And throughout the book, Braun takes us on many engaging
factual sidetrips--we learn, for instance, that Theodore Roosevelt coined the phrase "Good to the last drop" used by Maxwell House ever since; that distances between Tibetan villages are sometimes reckoned by the number of cups of tea needed to sustain a person (three cups being roughly 8 kilometers); and that John Pemberton's original recipe for Coca-Cola included not only kola extract, but also cocaine.
Whether you are a sophisticated consumer of cabernet sauvignon and Kenya AA or just someone who needs a cup of joe in the morning and a cold one after work, you will find Buzz to be an eye-opening, informative, and often amusing look at two substances at once utterly familiar and deeply mysterious.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Health, Food, Chemistry, Alcohol, Addiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[DJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly Braun is not familiar with the recipe for modern pop science texts. Where are the extrapolations from statistically insignificant correlations to bold sermons launching the next consumer craze? Why have they been replaced with tempered, conservative statements accurately reflecting the uncertainty of the scientific process and our current state of knowledge?

Genre-bending accuracy aside, Buzz is a handy user manual for the human body and the two drugs you almost certainly abuse it with - caffeine and alcohol. Braun employs an entertaining, Magic School Bus-style strategy of conveying the science from the point of view of our molecular stars as they journey through your poor unsuspecting body. If you maintain a healthy information diet (or frequently [ab]use either substance), you are unlikely to find many stunning surprises in the discussion of behavioral consequences (Egads! Alcohol disrupts learning and proper sleep and caffeine improves cognitive speed on mundane tasks and is a mild diuretic?!), but the basic science behind their commercial production and effects on the human body offer a few fascinating tidbits:

1) Alcohols are actually a quite large family of molecules. The one you are most well-acquainted with and commonly refer to as "alcohol" is ethanol. However its not the only member of the family capable of getting you drunk. Methanol, just a carbon atom away from ethanol, can also induce intoxication. The reason you do not see methanol on the shelf at your liquor store, however, is that a methanol hangover comes with a slightly less appealing side effect than a mere hangover - permanent blindness. Methanol is broken down into formaldehyde by an enzyme that is found in your retina... and formaldehyde is not something you want your eyeball getting cozy with.

2) That most of the table wine you find weights in at 12% alcohol content is no coincidence; its a necessary condition of the production process. Ethanol is typically produced by the gasping breaths of suffocating yeast cells, and in a 12% ethanol bath, ethanol can no longer diffuse across the yeast cell wall, inducing the drowning cell to shut down.

3) Caffeine, contrary to popular belief, is not exactly brain fuel. It works by blocking the activity of adenosine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that seems to build up in the body throughout the day. Thus caffeine works by "turning off the brake" rather than "hitting the accelerator." This is important because it makes it nigh impossible to overdose on caffeine. On the other hand, this means that if you are a lifeless drone devoid of passion, caffeine cannot rescue you.

One question I leave for researchers of caffeine is: does there exist a biochemical means by which caffeine might make us think or remember that we are/were much smarter under its guidance than we really are/were? Many claim to be granted creative superpowers by caffeine but current research has not been able to support these claims. Perhaps caffeine only increases our beliefs about our cognitive abilities and not our abilities per se.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book about liquids, rather dry.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I definitely had dust off my sixth grade science knowledge for this. Luckily, Dr. Braun is good at making things accessible for non-science types. Even better, he has the rare ability to give just the right amount of information and no more (something many lawyers would do well to learn). Interspersed in all of this are asides from history and literature, giving the book a more expansive feeling than if it were simply science. I never knew reading about alcohol and caffeine while not drinking them could be so interesting. The only drawback to this book is that it was published in 1996, meaning it does not include recent research or phenomena (such as red bull and vodka, which would have been a great addition to the final chapter). Highly recommended.

[Eric Lazarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fast and fun read on two of the most used substances in human beverage/food creation on earth. I will give the book 3.5 stars, actually, and if it weren't "dated" it's scientific back-bone, or, were longer, (it's about 100-200 pages too short) then I would have given it 4.5 or 5 stars. The work is written in a fun style that moves quickly and covers both the science and the history of both caffeine and alcohol. The author also does a great job of tackling the myths behind the uses and effects of both. That's what makes it an interesting read, even above the core chemistry and biology (internal, cardio, and neurology) and he applies truths/facts well with no real apparent agenda in any direction.

If you love science and history and lore, this is an enjoyable read. If you want depth, or a comprehensive treatment of the effects of caffeine and/or alcohol, this isn't for you. Sadly, he also leaves out the psychological and sociological issues involved in these topics.

I had decided to read this because of a recommendation in an article in the Atlantic, and I am glad I did, but also a little disappointed that I bought a used copy instead of grabbing a library edition.

[Lisa]

Notes from Starbucked

“Tea must be universally renounced. I myself must be weaned, and the sooner the better.” –John Adams in a letter to Abigail Adams, future president and revolutionary
“I asked Schultz if he agreed with those-including his former right and left-hand men, Behar and Orin Smith-who have claimed that Starbucks changed the world. ‘It’s a pretty arrogant thing to say, ‘We changed the world,’” he replied. ‘I don’t know if I’d say it like that I think we have managed to, with a simple cup of coffee and a very unique experience, enhance the lives of people by creating a sense of community, by bringing people together and recognizing the importance of place in people’s lives. In the last few years, I think it’s become fairly evident that we’re having this effect around the world.” This is the kind of statement that made Schultz a marketing icon; he can steer any kind of question toward the concepts he wants to associate with the brand, turning his answer into a brief celebration of the benevolence of Starbucks.” – 136
“Mention coffee around Schultz and the next thing you know you are talking about the human condition.” – 136
“After probing the books at ten chain stores and ten independents, the researchers discovered that for every $100 spent at a mom and pop, an average $73 of that recirculated in the local economy, while the figure for chains was just $43. Which makes sense; strictly speaking, the whole purpose of a chain store is to tap into a community’s cash pool and reroute the funds to company investors.” – 152
“We also need to bear in mind that chain stores can undermine a community by making it more bland. ‘People want to visit a neighborhood because of its uniqueness and charm,” she explained. “There’s a danger if you’re an urban neighborhood or downtown, and you’re not offering anything that can’t be found at a mall, where there’s weather control and plenty of parking. You risk losing that advantage.” – 152
“But if you doubt that Starbucks really affects a city’s image either way, consider how damning it can be not to have them. When Schultz visited Detroit in 2006 to give a speech, local reporters pressed him to explain what it meant that the city had only five Starbucks stores-even the Detroit Metropolitan Airport had more. (“It means Detroit is still ghetto, that what’s it means,” one local explained to the Detroit News, which ran a story arguing that the dearth of Starbucks was a symbol of the city’s economic struggles.)” – 154
Starbucks doesn’t usually put Mom and Pop places out of business, for the following reasons:
- The company’s prices are typically higher than even the most quality obsessed independents and it doesn’t give discounts on its coffee, closes early in the evening, yet locally owned coffee house can lure students well into the wee hours; they can also offer decent food while starbucks doesn’t
“In the coffeehouse business, a cluster of cades can do better as a group than each café would alone; a Starbucks and an independent can work in tandem to draw more coffee drinkers” – 166
“Starbucks has managed to establish a minimum standard of service and quality. They make it very difficult for people to survive in this business who are not doing a good job. You have to be better than them to survive, which is hard to do.” – 166
“The child labor charge is a good example of our tendency to assume we know the score about coffee farms in the developing world and are thus entitled to proclaim what’s best for growers. Even those who work extensively with the farmers themselves are sometimes prone to embarrassing gaffes. “ – 173
“Specialty coffee roasters detest Fair Trade coffee almost universally. ‘When they’re honest about it, almost all of the roasters hate Fair Trade. Their inventory of grievances is extensive. The first sticking point concerns the restrictions on which farms are eligible for Fair Trade certification. In order to participate in the system, applicants must obey a set of rules that often seems more like a socialist wish list than a structure designed to help growers. All aspiring farms must be small, family-run plots that are part of democratic, worker-owned cooperatives. Private ownership and capitalist practices are completely off limits-even hiring day laborers can take your farm out of the running. Many say this restriction unfairly disqualifies good private farms and some call it culturally insensitive. The coffee world is full of families who have cultivated the same land for generations, beholden to no one; the idea of having others make their decisions goes against years of tradition. Then there are structural problems. Fair Trade certifiers refuse to interfere with merchants market prices, which gives greedy retailers a free pass to take advantage of well-meaning consumers by charging ridiculous margins.” – 192
“Fair Trade is not a viable solution to the global coffee crisis. It obviously helps the lucky few who buy into the co-op system and get their farms certified, like Daniel and Reynaldo. But advocating fair trade as a panacea is like trying to put out a four-alarm inferno with a squirt gun; although it might help a little, it’s not going to extinguish the blaze.” – 193
“Starbucks has never voluntarily done much to help coffee growers. On the rare occasion when the company has taken steps to better the lives of farmers, it has generally only done so because a consumer group was planning a protest or a boycott.” – 194
When a pamphlet with the following on it circulated: Starbucks refuses to pay its growers a living wage (had a starving child on it), the pamphlet wasn’t that accurate. Starbuck’s astonishing success at popularizing high-quality beans has actually been keeping the coffee industry’s head about water. It’s all tied to the quality, if the brew tastes good, then the company that roasted the beans probably paid a decent price for them. Even Starbucks, the perennial punching bag of Fair Trade advocates, paid an average of $1.42 per pound for its coffee in 2006, which is $0.16 higher than the Fair Trade price. (Historically though, Starbucks has typically paid a few cents less than Fair Trade rates.)” – 196

“If you’re seeking a culprit for the plight of coffee growers, look no further than the Big Four (Nestle’, Proctor & Gamble, Philip Morris, and Massimo Zanetti)-and, by extension, those who purchase their exploitative coffee products. After all, these conglomerates have long been ratcheting up the amount of robusta in their blends, yet consumers have kept torturing their own taste buds without protest. In 1989, major blends like Folgers and Yuban were 50% robusta; today, their 65 percent robusta. As long as people accept this ongoing trend, farmers will suffer. Oddly enough, the roaster Paul Katzeff-a man so steeped in Left Wing radicalism that he once protested farming conditions in El Salvador by pouring buckets of fake blood on the steps of a hotel where an SCAA convention was taking place-explained the state of affairs quite lucidly. ‘At Starbucks, they don’t want to harm anybody, and they don’t want to help anybody,’ he told me. ‘They just want to make money. They’re neutral. I wouldn’t say to Howard Schultz that he’s a murderer for not buying enough Fair Trade Coffee. But I will say to other companies who buy as cheap as they can that their actions are killing people-starving them, keeping a living wage from them. This is why concerned coffee drinkers should revel in their gourmet habit. It’s a simple formula: more demand for good beans leads to better prices for growers. Helping lift farmers from poverty, then, isn’t so much a matter of hectoring companies like Starbucks (even if the company isn’t the human rights champion it claims to be) as it is of making sure people never drink the cheap and exploitative coffee offered by conglomerates like the Big Four.” – 197
“The more snobbish we are about the coffee we drink, the better things work out for the farmers who produce the beans. And really the true problem has always been that we’ve never paid enough for our coffee. A dime for a cup of Joe was a fantastic value in decades past, but whoever said it was fair? As Kenneth Davids, a top coffee taster and the editor of the Coffee Review, points out, the best wines in the world sell for thousands of dollars a bottle, yet the globe’s best coffee is cheaper per cup than a can of Coke. So those who feel guilty about spending a small fortune on coffee might want to tell themselves this: maybe they’re just paying what it’s actually worth.” – 198
“Shouldn’t eighty-five cups of caffeinated coffee-more than five gallons of the stuff-have killed him or at least left him a quivering mess? Well, yes. Fortunately for Comstock, the competition-grade coffee at the Hotel Kaddatz must have been little more than hot water with a hint of coffee flavor. If he had tried his stunt at a present-day Starbucks with the chains brawny drip brew, he would have consumed 13.6 grams of pure caffeine, well over the fatal oral dose of five to ten grams. In truth, he would have grown too shaky and disoriented from caffeine intoxication (an actual medical condition) to get even halfway to the record.” -200
“McDonalds doesn’t portray itself as the Godiva f beef, nor does it charge the highest prices in the marketplace. Starbucks, on the other hands, undoubtedly makes its customers pay gourmet prices. In fact, according to British government statistics, in England a cappuccino now costs more than a line of cocaine. If consumers are paying that kind of money, shouldn’t the product give them a similar thrill?” – 201
“Though we often don’t perceive it as such, caffeine is a drug. With 90 percent of Americans taking some form of it habitually, caffeine has become so commonplace in society that good and beverage manufacturers often don’t bother to inform consumers if its present in a product. But its there, far more frequently than we realize. Caffeine isn’t some naturally occurring part of the soda-manufacturing process, nor does it have any noticeable flavor; it’s always an additive, mixed in by beverage companies specifically for its pharmacological effects. What’s more, fully 70 percent of American soft drinks contain it-a fact that helped make caffeine the most widely used psychoactive drug on the planet.” - 202
“There is one aesthetic judgment on which nearly all coffee aficionados agree, however: as time goes by, it’s getting tougher to find decent coffee at a Starbucks. But at this phase in the company’s evolution, superior coffee isn’t necessarily what it’s aiming at. For Starbucks, quality has become almost irrelevant.” – 211
“Certainly, Starbucks has the best marketing you can find, but its’ been a long time since the coffee lived up to the ads. Once, back in the company’s evangelistic days, its paper bags of fresh beans included a stamped sell-by date, and its baristas possessed a near-encyclopedic knowledge of espresso arcane. The Starbucks employees of old preached relentlessly about quality, raising the consumer’s expectations of what coffee could taste like in the process; essentially, they made the average American cup of coffee better. Over its years of expansion, Starbucks has jettisoned many of the quality control standards that vaulted it to prominence in the first place. In the past, baristas crafted each espresso shot personally; Howard Schultz used to compare his employees to culinary artisans. Today, the machines pull the shots. The company’s date-stamped paper bags of coffee beans gave way to plastic packages with indecipherable codes printed on the bottom to disguise the date of roasting.” – 212

“Do as the company’s prices continue climbing toward the stratosphere, the quality of its coffee isn’t keeping up. In a way, this is inevitable. “Look, when you have ten thousand stores to supply, how much quality coffee can you buy?” asks Aldred Peet. “There isn’t that much good coffee in the world!” According to Peet’s reasoning, the vastness of the Starbucks Empire makes it impossible to maintain the standards of times past. But, of course, Schultz is a firm believer in his company’s ability to achieve the impossible, He claims Starbucks hasn’t just maintained its quality levels but that the coffee is actually better now than ever.” – 212
“In a company as large as Starbucks, you can find whatever you are looking for, except fresh coffee.” – Jerry Baldwin 213
“American’s are herd driven. We like everything to be the same. We know that if we go to another part of the country-Oh look! There’s a Starbucks!-you’re assured of getting the same thing. To the coffee drinker in unfamiliar territory, Starbucks looms like an oasis on the horizon it means you’re assured of getting a consistent, passable cup. And nothing is better at producing a consistent passable cup than a machine. The company’s transition from manual espresso machines to hyperefficient automatics, which pull precisely the same shot every time the barista hits a button, has been a quiet one. ” – 215

“When we humans ingest moderate amounts of caffeine, a series of pleasant sensations runs through us like an electric current. We feel invigorated, buzz with industry, the mortal coil suddenly crackling with newfound energy. The mind races. The heart thumps fasters. There’s a very good reason why caffeine makes us feel so keyed up: we’ve just swallowed poison and our bodies are reacting accordingly.
Specifically, caffeine is bug poison-a natural insecticide that developed in plants as a means of short-circuiting the nervous systems of any crawlers who might hazard a munch. Its scrambling effect on bug brains is truly impressive…The tweaked, sedated and stoned spiders spun decent-looking facsimiles of the standard web, with the necessary hubs and concentric circles. The caffeinated spiders on the other hand, wove the arachnid equivalent of gibberish, a fractured and haphazard mess.
Since we are neither insect nor arachnid, the drug affects us far differently, but it still takes quick and decisive command of our bodily functions. Within thirty to forty-five minutes of your first sip of coffee, caffeine molecules reach their peak concentration in the body, permeating all barriers. It slips into saliva, spinal fluid, breast milk, and even sperm, which wiggle and swim more energetically when under the influence.
The source of caffeine’s power within our bodies is its resemblance to adenosine, a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep. Adenosine works in the nervous system the same way a radiator works in a car; its purpose is to keep the brain from overheating. Each time a neuron fires, adenosine is produced as a by-product, and the more it fires, the more adenosine accumulates. Over time, the adenosine finds its way to receptor sites, which then tell the brain that it’s time to shut down-that is, we grow tired and fall asleep. After enough time has passed, the receptor sites reabsorb the adenosine and we wake up refreshed, ready for another day of intense neural action.
Caffeine works by disrupting this process. To the brain, caffeine and adenosine look identical, which means the caffeine molecules tart snapping into the adenosine receptor sites right and left-only the fit isn’t exact, so the caffeine blocks adenosine from getting in, but it doesn’t order the brain to shut down. The effect is like putting a block of wood under one of the brain’s primary brake pedals; our neurons begin firing more rapidly because they have no way of slowing down. (Blocked receptor sites on the colon and kidneys also account for the laxative and diuretic properties of coffee those organs, too, get going with enthusiasm). The body responds to the foreign menaces by sending squadrons of liver enzymes to dismantle the caffeine molecules, and after six or so hours things return to normal.
But although caffeine is technically a toxin, that doesn’t necessarily mean it does us any harm. Despite the extreme scrutiny scientists have placed on the drug, no serious health charges have ever been proved. If anything, the studies have given coffee drinking a better reputation. Taken in moderation-three or fewer cups of coffee a quence. It gives us the miraculous ability to become alert on command, improves mental quickness, enhances athletic performance, and even improves the drinker’s mood. Caffeine is so good at boosting one’s attitude, in fact, that researchers have discovered that s strong does of the stuff does as much to bring up a person’s spirits as cocaine or amphetamines.” – 222

“Every employee who puts in at least twenty hours a week receives access to stock options and a low-cost health care plan (which covers dental, vision, and even hypnotherapy), plus auxiliary perks like tuition reimbursement and paid adoption fees. The company has maintained this benefits cornucopia despite astronomical increases in the cost of health care, which has led to a peculiar result: Starbucks now pays more each year to insure employees than it pays for its raw coffee beans. This benevolence wins the company no end of praise in the business press.” – 228

[Christine Kenney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a good deal about brain chemistry and the subject matter is anything but dry.

Expected more of a fusion of the two topics throughout the book; with the exception of the final chapter, this book could be published as two separate books on their respective substance.

The "lore" was a bit light when weighed against hard science coverage. Braun could have delved a lot deeper into the commercial and cultural histories of these substances which in turn influence how quickly the medical community and public are to consider them drugs. For instance, while I was reading The Honourable Company about the history of the East India company, it seemed there was space to write a whole book on the precarious commodity trade arrangements, how these imports influenced British diets, and how the disposal of a glut of tea supply on American ports (with taxation) was a precipitating factor in American Independence (and likely the formation of the Nation of India). Or the curious dynamic between Cuba and America during the rum running prohibition era or Cuba's subsequent trade arrangements with the USSR during the cold war... but perhaps that sort of coverage of caffeine, alcohol, etc. would be better suited to another book and another author.

[Yakov Pyatnitskov · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided into 2 parts: alcohol and caffeine. I read into after reading another book about drugs and addiction called Never Enough and Buzz added up nicely to what was not clear (neurons, transmitters, another biochemical terms).

Some info in Buzz is of course dated but the most important information is still valid. Alcohol turned out more complex and interesting than other drugs (the term “sledgehammer” refers to its action on many areas in the brain and in many ways somehow mimicking action of marijuana, morphine and caffeine).

Caffeine section was not new for me because of a great book called Caffeine Blues which treats it in more details. Still it was an interesting read.

Recommended for those interested in the effects of two drugs on the brain but nothing beyond that.
For the question of addiction read Never Enough.
For how dangerous is caffeine (short answer - very) and how to quit it pain free read Caffeine Blues.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buzz was a very pleasant surprise, as it is from 1996 but still contains important references with a focus on neuroscience. I learned quite a bit from this book, including historical significances of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. For example, there was a time where caffeine was illegalized in multiple countries due to its strong effects. It was a very quick read. If you enjoyed this book, I highly recommend "The Shallows - What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" for additional updates since in the field of neuroscience as impacted by our daily activities.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars and change. This was a find from a neighborhood library box. As someone who has imbibed more than my share of these two substances, I was intrigued. The book is very readable, and the science and research are solid, if possibly a bit outdated after a quarter century. Still, in spite of learning a few new terms and being reminded of the complexity of these drugs on our complex brains, I can’t say my knowledge of either substance is greatly enlarged.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good, it presented science that has been thrown at me in a variety of classes in a way where I had an AHA moment every couple of pages. However, I retained nothing, I wish I took notes, its a short book, worth the re-read just to get those concepts cemented. Adenosine, GABA and Glutamate receptors, you tricky bastards, I'll detangle you in my knowledge one day.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m ambivalent about alcohol and coffee so when I saw this book at the library it seemed like a good choice. Although it would have been easier to follow if I’d been a strong chemistry student, I still found it very interesting. It was printed in 1996, so I wonder how much more has been found out since then.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and fun. Made me look at the subject with a new perspective.

[Joāo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant dichotomy of new neurochemistry implications and clinical studies

[Afgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book about caffeine iteraction and alcohol.

[Don Cram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realize a non-fiction book discussing the scientific research on the effects of alcohol and caffeine is not the usual fare for fiction readers and writers. However, many of us who write include both substances in our daily routines. This book tells the story of alcohol and caffeine, what research has shown about their actual effects, and the hypotheses about how the brain and body respond to create those effects. I have taught high school chemistry and am sure anyone who has made it through high school can follow everything in the book. I found it fascinating.

The bottom line on alcohol is that it affects much more than the brain and the liver. It's a mood-alterning drug that many creative types have employed to their benefit. It's also seriously dangerous for anyone who might become dependent upon it. Not much new there. Caffeine, on the other hand, turns out to have far less of an effect on us than we think. A single cup of coffee each morning might have the same effect as a five cup-a-day habit because the brain adjusts to whatever level of caffeine it receives. The author admits he still enjoys alcohol but not when he is trying to write. And he now reserves the caffeine for the occasional cup a few times a week in order to get the benefit of the undiminished buzz when he wants it for writing well.

J.S. Bach would agree. Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, and Hemmingway would agree about the caffeine (all were heavy users) but might not want to talk about their alcohol use. All three were alcoholics.

It's a fascinating read about two substances the human race has long used and about which we have developed vastly incorrect beliefs. I would have given the book a top rating except it is based on research more than a decade old. I would be interested to see a sequel that includes more recent findings.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library on a recommendation from bwanderson.

Braun discusses the physiological and psychological effects of perhaps the two most common mind-altering substances in a clear, detailed and occasionally humourous manner. Alcohol is his first target, and after a brief history lesson, he takes us on a tour of the body via an alcohol molecule. This "exceptionally pudgy dog" of a molecule can sneak into our systems in a multitude of ways and cause havoc in nearly everything it touches. Not surprisingly, an entire chapter is devoted to the effects of alcohol on the brain.

Caffeine gets much the same treatment; however, its effects are much less complex than that of alcohol, so not as much of the book is dedicated to this substance. Braun briefly discusses the history of coffee, tea, chocolate and cola as sources of caffeine, then explores its effects on creativity, sex, athletic performance and dieting.

I found Braun’s' style to be engaging and detailed, while not overwhelming the reader. The occasional touches of humour and trivia were also enjoyable. He lists his references and recommended reading, as well as provides an index - two important tools for this type of non-fiction, IMHO. I'd recommend this as at least a library read; while those interested in the effects of recreational chemistry may consider this a good purchase.

Quotable Quotes:
Alcohol is more like a pharmacological hand grenade -- Chapter 3, "Your Brain on Alcohol"

Drinking caffeine is like putting a block of wood under one of the brain's primary brake pedals -- Chapter 7, "A Quicker Genius".

[Victoria Haf · Rating 3 out of 5]

como tema se me hace muy interesante pero no me encantó porque se basa demasiado en química y biología, no sé si es mucho pedir, pero me hubiera gustado que abarcara un poco más, sobre todo la parte social, porque, por ejemplo, habla de adicción pero solo a nivel biológico/genético, sin incluir variantes sociales.
Muchas veces resulta poco conclusivo ya que repite que cada cuerpo/cerebro es diferente y que solo experimentando nosotros mismos sabremos como nos afectan las drogas, ya que los mismos compuestos pueden tener reacciones completamente opuestas dependiendo de la persona.
En general creo que seré más consciente de lo que sucede cada vez que bebo alcohol y cafeína, aprendí varias cosas pero no es un libro que recomendaría a cualquiera ya que es muy científico y puede resultar un poco aburrido.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like coffee. I like non-fiction. I thought I would love this book and I just didn't. The chapters each open interestingly enough with a quote and an anecdote but then they drag on forever with a description of chemical and biological studies. I do not like chemistry nor do I like biology and unfortunately a large majority of the "science and lore" was dedicated to boring the pants off me with chemical compounds and how they affect every boring organ I've never cared to know more about. I need more lore! I like enough weird and varied things so usually reading a paragraph or more about things I don't like really doesn't phase me but an entire book? Nah, life is too short to read boring books. But if you like this dry, science-y stuff, maybe it is for you.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author made chemistry, molecular biology and neuroscience accessible and entertaining. I learned a lot from this book. Like why alcohol is both a stimulant and a depressant, how the body processes both alcohol and caffeine, and the little we do actually know about how they affect the brain. Especially interesting:
- stomach enzymes have more to do with alcohol tolerance than you think;
- while evidence suggests a genetic link for alcoholism, no gene has yet been isolated and the rate of alcoholism for children of alcoholics is lower than you might think;
- unlike alcohol, caffeine can't escape the body through urine, sweat or breath; it has to be destroyed by liver enzymes. And it takes women on the pill twice as long to process.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started taking caffeine quite late, so thought I’d check up on it. This is fun, with lots of historical flavour and scientific wonder. (The coolest fact in it is that the body’s direct link between effort and fatigue is the result of an incredibly elegant cycle using adenosine: the production of energy in the body (by breaking down adenosine triphosphate) is exactly the same process as inducing sleep, as the process’ byproduct adenosine triggers dampening receptors in the brain.)

He doesn’t give a straight answer to the question “Does our rapid formation of caffeine tolerance make its long-term effects zero-sum?” but the evidence isn’t good.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more science than lore. And that is not a bad thing!
I especially liked that the author mentions studies that have not been replicated (or that were faulty to start with). There's a lot of nonense that gets repeated, and it's good to have a book that sorts out the real facts.
I also like the author's general stance that there's enough variation among individuals that none of his information could ever be one-size-fits-all.

[Carole Bucher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the author's capacity to educate while entertaining. A little bit like Norman doidge's book on the brain only a bit more graphically detailed. I loved getting such a close up description of what actually happens to me when I do certain things to myself. I was very entertained and will probably read it again.

[Trent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of 200 pages, I would say that between 150-160 pages were fascinating. We drink too much coffee and alcohol to not have a firm understanding of how these substances work. That is where this book shines, when he explains things from a biochemical perspective. Worth the read, and also a very easy read.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction book. Interesting finding out what alcohol does on its way through your body, alot of chemical and biological descriptions. It did drag on a little though at times so one of those books you pick up and put down over time, for me anyway, overall good to learn some interesting scientific things about Alcohol and Caffeine.

[Aria Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible and easy to read. I didn't find the writing dry, but it definitely is more focused on the science than the lore of these drugs, so you have to be interested in that.

I would say where this book suffers is that it's slightly dated. In particular, the information around caffeine is somewhat anemic compared to the current day knowledge of its mechanisms. Still an informative read.

[Stuart Bobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting to me, given my own experiences with caffeine and a good way to get a clear update on the latest thinking on how these drugs work on the brain.

It isn't long or engaging enough to quite earn a recommendation for anybody that isn't already quite interested in brain chemistry things.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

must have read this a few years late (i got it used), because the pop culture references and humor missed their mark for me. interesting, but it was kind of like watching 200 Cigarettes in the movie theater only to leave in the middle for a smoke break. just kidding, i never did that.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book about basic information on what Alcohol and caffeine does to the body.
B/B = Borrow
Bought this book to learn the effects of caffeine on the body, as I had given it up for 2 years, and longed for a Pepsi or a cup of hot cocoa...

[Bologna_frog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mr. Braun reminded me of a the myriad effects of alcohol and caffeine on the mind and body. I ended up skimming a fair bit because I didn't discover much revelatory information, much I wasn't already aware of.

[Nicole]

I don't remember why I grabbed this at the library but I am loving the scientific explanations behind why these drugs affect us.
Won't make me change my caffeine or alcohol habit. I may even start to combine them. Hello irish coffee.