The goal of this book is to contribute to the ongoing scholarly discussion on the very serious topic of drunkenness. The phrase four hundred rabbits is one of many illustrations of the deep cultural, religious, and social influences on how individuals and communities view alcohol intoxication: The Aztecs believed alcohol to have a divine origin, with a god and goddess giving birth to 400 (meaning innumerable in ancient Aztec) divine children or rabbit gods, each representing a varying degree and expression of alcohol intoxication and drunkenness. Hence the book s subtitle, which at first glance might seem light-hearted but in fact represents an in-depth look at a weighty topic.
With such rooted sociocultural factors in mind, the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) and DrinkWise Australia collaborated to prepare a publication that advances current understanding of the individual and collective meanings, purposes, and functions of drunkenness. As the authors explain, interpretations by different disciplines of the terms intoxication and drunkenness are often inconsistent. The chapters of this book discuss intoxication and drunkenness from three perspectives: biological, cultural, and social. By placing intoxication and drunkenness into these contexts, the book is able to offer language and conceptual tools to help advance the ongoing discussion on how best to reduce alcohol-related harm and encourage responsible enjoyment of beverage alcohol. Readers in need of an in-depth understanding of the varied dimensions of extreme drunkenness will add this excellent resource to their personal library.

On the cusp of becoming a teenager, Charlie Gargiulo lived through the planned destruction of the Little Canada neighborhood of Lowell, Mass., in the 1960s. This is his story. He went on to become a legendary community organizer who led efforts to ensure people would have decent housing and a fair chance to earn a living and make a happy life for themselves.

The Shape of Wind on Water is Ann Fox Chandonnets substantial collection of new and selected poems, some from her rural childhood in Massachusetts, and many from her thirty-four years in Alaska. Place has always been important to her. In 1968, her first book of poems was published in Madison, Wisc. In the following years, she wrote two cookbooks, four food histories, and a tourist guide to the Panhandle. She also founded the Literary Artists Guild of Alaska.     Ann Fox Chandonnet grew up on a 180-acre apple and dairy farm in Dracut, Mass. Then there were four years in California, followed by a rich life indoors and out in Alaska. She has worked as an English teacher in Kodiak, Alaska, and a police reporter in Juneau. Chandonnet has two grown sons and three lovely granddaughters. She and her husband of fifty-six years are retired to Lake St. Louis, Missouri, where they share Anns rescue dog, Gypsy Rose.

One particular day had started out like any other but was soon to change my life forever. I had come to a wooded area with many hills and high cliffs. A small cave looked to be a safe place for me to catch some sleep. As I curled up in my temporary bedroom, I heard tires skidding, rocks falling, and someone screaming. I ran to the top of the hill and managed to stop just in time. The top of the hill abruptly dropped off into a very deep rocky ravine. At the bottom of the ravine, I saw a boy about 16 years old and what was left of a bicycle. Apparently he did not know about the sudden drop and was unable to stop his bicycle before they both tumbled to the bottom. The boy was lying on his back and moaning. Blood was covering his head, and his left leg was twisted in the wrong direction. He was in serious trouble. Anne Fox lives in southwest Oklahoma near the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Her career in law enforcement and emergency medical services has helped to inspire the creation of "Rocky Rescue."

Disability and gender, terms that have previously seemed so clear-cut, are becoming increasingly complex in light of new politics and scholarship. These words now suggest complicated sets of practices and ways of being. Contributors to this innovative collection explore the intersection of gender and disability in the arts, consumer culture, healing, the personal and private realms, and the appearance of disability in the public sphere-both in public fantasies and in public activism. Beginning as separate enterprises that followed activist and scholarly paths, gender and disability studies have reached a point where they can move beyond their boundaries for a common landscape to inspire new areas of inquiry. Whether from a perspective in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, or arts, the shared subject matter of gender and disability studies-the body, social and cultural hierarchy, identity, discrimination and inequality, representation, and political activism-insistently calls for deeper conversation. This volume provides fresh findings not only about the discrimination practiced against women and people with disabilities, but also about the productive parallelism between these two categories.