The City and the Saloon: Denver, 1858-1916

Rating:
Summary: a reader from Baltimore
Review: Noel's study of the saloon in Denver treads the line between being a rather parochial local history and a more analytical social history. He includes everything that you need to know about saloon ownership, local politics, and drinking habits, but does so without stressing existing historiography. This absence makes the book a quick and entertaining read, but there's little sense of how Denver compares to other cities. The book is very good at what it does, but what it does is limited. If you want a fun book on drinking in Denver, this book is more than adequate, but if you are looking for a more scholarly approach read Roy Rosenzweig's Eight Hours for What We Will.