Once looked down upon in the western world as a commoners' drink, beer has now regained its rightful position in society as one of our greatest libations. Thanks to the explosion of microbreweries on both sides of the Atlantic and to the tireless international endeavours of the Campaign for Real Ale, fine beers are now widely available, and there's a growing public demand for beers from all over the world. Here, in one brief international survey, are not just the facts but the legends, not just the best-known beers but the curios you may have to dare yourself to drink.

Sledging is the art of verbally intimidating a batsman so that he loses his concentration and gets himself out. It is also known as the art of initiating mental disintegration. The Sledger's Handbook is an absolutely hilarious romp through the history of the cricketing insult, from WG Grace to Shane Warne and his contemporaries. Who said cricket was a gentleman's game?

2005 Mastermind semi-finalist Ed Harris, a keen golfer and captain of his local Wimbledon club, has let his grey cells loose on this charming and erudite history of one of the world's favourite sports. He explores the origins, development, the rules, the clothes, the courses and the competitions as well as famous players, records, trivia and jokes.

A New York Times Best Seller A full-color, lushly illustrated graphic novel that recounts the many-layered past and present of beer through dynamic pairings of pictures and meticulously researched insight into the history of the world's favorite brew. The History of Beer Comes to Life! We drink it. We love it. But how much do we really know about beer? Starting from around 7000 BC, beer has emerged as a major element driving humankind’s development, a role it has continued to play through today’s craft brewing explosion. With The Comic Book Story of Beer, the first-ever nonfiction graphic novel focused on this most favored beverage, you can follow along from the very beginning, as authors Jonathan Hennessey and Mike Smith team up with illustrator Aaron McConnell to present the key figures, events, and, yes, beers that shaped and frequently made history. No boring, old historical text here, McConnell’s versatile art style—moving from period-accurate renderings to cartoony diagrams to historical caricatures and back—finds an equal and effective partner in the pithy, informative text of Hennessey and Smith presented in captions and word balloons on each page. The end result is a filling mixture of words and pictures sure to please the beer aficionado and comics geek alike.

All sorts of Craft Beer Facts, Fun and Games. For the serious and not so serious craft beer fan. Expand your craft beer knowledge. Lip smacking fun. For craft beer fans of all shapes and sizes.

It's an extraordinary tale of yeast-obsessed monks and teetotal prime ministers; of how pale ale fuelled an Empire and weak bitter won a world war; of exploding breweries, a bear in a yellow nylon jacket and a Canadian bloke who changed the dringking habits of a nation. It's also the story of the rise of the pub from humble origins through an epic, thousand-year struggle to survive misunderstanding, bad government and misguided commerce. The history of beer in Britain is a social history of the nation itself, full of catastrophe, heroism and an awful lot of hangovers. 'a pleasant antidote to more po-faced histories of beer' Guardian 'Like a good drinking companion, Brown tells a remarkable story: a stream of fascinating facts, etymologies and pub-related urban phenomena' TLS 'Packed with bar-room bet-winning facts and entertaining digressions, this is a book into which every pub-goer will want to dip.' Express

This completely updated second edition of the best-selling beer resource features the most current information on beer styles, flavor profiles, sensory evaluation guidelines, craft beer trends, food and beer pairings, and draft beer systems. You’ll learn to identify the scents, colors, flavors, mouth-feel, and vocabulary of the major beer styles — including ales, lagers, weissbeirs, and Belgian beers — and develop a more nuanced understanding of your favorite brews with in-depth sections on recent developments in the science of taste. Spirited drinkers will also enjoy the new section on beer cocktails that round out this comprehensive volume.