Martini, Straight Up

Lowell Edmunds is a professor of classics at Rutgers University.

• List of IllustrationsPreface to the Revised EditionPreface to the First EditionIntroductionTime Line. The Martini Decade by DecadeThe Simple Messages of the MartiniMessage One. The Martini is American—it is not European, Asian, or AfricanMessage Two. The Martini is urban and urbane—it is not rural or rusticMessage Three. The Martini is a high-status, not a low-status, drinkMessage Four. The Martini is a man's, not a woman's, drinkMessage Five. The Martini is optimistic, not pessimisticMessgae Six. The Martini is the drink of adults, not of childrenMessage Seven. The Martini belongs to the past, not the presentThe Simple Messages ReconsideredThe Ambiguities of the MartiniAmbiguity One. The Martini is civilized—the Martini is uncivilizedAmbiguity Two. The Martini unites—the Martini separatesAmbiguity Three. The Martini is classic—the Martini is individualAmbiguity Four. The Martini is sensitive—the Martini is toughHistorical Background of the AmbiguitiesConclusionTheory, Method, and BibliographyAppendix. The Martini GlassNotesIndex

Whether or not you take your martini as seriously as Lowell Edmunds, this is an admirable account of the drink's place in the American dream.—Justin Warshaw, Times Literary Supplement