Susan Cheever chronicles drinking in America

"What about the fact that 100 years before Prohibition we were the drunkest country in the world, and what about the fact that in the 19th century, writers didn't drink," Cheever says

Her book is filled with detailed anecdotes and quirky, alcohol-fueled moments through time. Cheever offers these observations among her favorite bits:

Paul Revere & the American Revolution

Think evening, April 18, 1775:

"I've been to Concord, Massachusetts, many times. I really thought that the first shots of the war were fired at the Old North Bridge, so I was really shocked and interested to read about what happened on Lexington Green, where Paul Revere stopped for a couple of shots," she says.

"He got there so much faster than the British. He got to Lexington at midnight, saying 'The British are coming, the British are coming,' and the militia turns out, and the British aren't anywhere near. So they all go to Buckman Tavern and drink for three hours, then the British finally get there and what ensues was 70 relatively or very drunk militiamen," Cheever says.