Alongside other classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, the Mint Julep, and the Martini, the Manhattan has been a staple of the sophisticated bar scene since the late nineteenth century. Never out of style, this iconic drink has seen a renaissance in the contemporary craft cocktail movement, its popularity boosted by TV's Mad Men. In theory, the recipe is simple: a mixture of whiskey, vermouth, and bitters stirred with ice, strained, and presented in a cocktail glass that is garnished with a cherry. But the exact ingredients and the proportions -- as well as the drink's true origins -- inspire great debate. This essential guide covers everything that the aficionado needs to know about the classic cocktail through an examination of its history and ingredients. Author Albert W. A. Schmid dispels several persistent myths, including the tale that the Manhattan was created in 1874 by bartenders at New York City's Manhattan Club to honor the newly elected Governor Samuel Jones Tilden at Lady Randolph Churchill's request. Schmid also explores the places and people that have contributed to the popularity of the drink and inspired its lore, including J. P. Morgan, who enjoyed a Manhattan every day at the end of trading on Wall Street. The Manhattan Cocktail also examines the effects of various bourbons and whiskeys on the aroma and flavor, even answering the age-old question of "shaken or stirred?" Featuring more than fifty recipes as well as notes and anecdotes from personalities as diverse as bartender and mixologist Dale DeGroff and writer Sir Kingsley Amis, this entertaining read will delight both the cocktail novice and the seasoned connoisseur.

Do you remember dancing to 'In the Mood' during the Second World War? If you do, you'll no doubt share in some of the author's memories of moonlight, music and romance, which she records in this diary as she looks back over her life. She takes us on a fascinating journey starting from her boarding school convent education in the hills of India. Then she shares with us her personal experiences of the war years when she danced the night away with handsome young men in uniform once her war work was over for the day. But these were the days of her youth and now she is no longer young in a world which, as she says, 'has no time for old age'. The elderly must help themselves and each other, but the best advice the author can offer is - to keep dancing!

Odes to Toads is an extraordinary book, into which an extraordinary woman has poured an extraordinary life. Part reflection, part memoir, part autobiography, part commentary; Bridget's story ranges from her childhood in the India of the Raj, to an unconventional married life in Weybridge, passing through a lifelong battle with depression. In the pages of this book we are privileged to meet an absolutely honest and gallant spirit who is, from first to last, her own woman.