Eric Newhouse, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper columns reprinted in this book, is a veteran newspaper reporter. As such, he's seen the flotsam and jetsam of human life: the divorces, lost jobs, battered wives, abused children, crime, drunken drivers, car wrecks, and medical bills. And, he's come to the conclusion that alcohol is behind much of it. Take away the alcohol and much of the human tragedy goes away. This book, Alcohol: Cradle to Grave, offers a compelling, day-in-the-life look at how the disease of alcoholism affects the state of Montana, as a microcosm of the national problem. Newhouse offers us a compelling and comprehensive understanding of the complexity, magnitude, and cost of alcohol abuse. It's an unflinching look at the largely unnoticed river of booze that is flooding our towns, our communities, and our daily lives - with suggestions on how to channel the flow.