American Still Life

 F. Paul Pacult, 2003 John Wiley and Sons, inc.  240 pages including index, bibliography and two appendices.

This is the Jim Beam story and making of the worlds #1 bourbon, or so it says on the book cover.  In reality this book is this and a lot more.  What this book manages to do is to give a concise history of America and its developing culture.  This history is cleverly interwoven with the family history of the Beam family against a background of industry and consumer preferences.  From the times of initial migration through the early years of settlement up to the present day F Paul Pacult provides a well researched and deeply informative account of a remarkable family living through remarkable times such as the prohibition.  The great thing is that he manages to do this whilst also providing insights into the actual people in a way that is human without being soppy.  There is little this book doesn’t have. Well researched, well balanced, full of facts, realistic, entertaining and just well written.