Originally published in 1984 this book provided the first German case study of a prototypical 19th Century social problem, combining a discussion of popular drinking behaviour with analysis of efforts to reform it on the parts of both middle class temperance reformers and the socialist labour movement. The book links the study of popular drinking behaviour and organized responses to it to larger themes in Germany's social and political development, providing an important window on topics such as working class dietary standards to the political mentality of the Bildungsbügertum.