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The Hour: A Cocktail Manifesto
Bernard DeVoto
Illustrated by William Barss
#UE7972
Hardcover, 127 pages; 2010
$16.95
 Members' Price: $14.41
The Hour is like a dry martini on paper. With a succinctness reminiscent of Strunk and White, Bernard DeVoto comments on the pure way to drink alcohol. The famous mid-twentieth century American historian tells us how to find a good whiskey--he's a rye man himself--and sets down the rule of "charged water" and ice along with his philosophy of the martini. On any day of the week, the hour starts at 6 p.m., when the world turns violet. It should always be enjoyed respectfully and, in that regard, DeVoto makes it clear that "a cocktail does not contain fruit juice." Even if you don't touch alcohol, you'll enjoy this collection of four essays from the 1940s and '50s. You may find yourself at the six o'clock hour slowing down with good friends and perhaps reading aloud some of DeVoto's astringent comments on drink and twentieth-century American life. As the historian once said, "May six o'clock never find you alone."
A Reader Review by Cynthia L. Ogorek of Calumet City, Illinois
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