Rum, NOT money, makes the world go 'round. That is the clear, simple, double-distilled message of Ian Williams's very tongue-in-cheek work on the delicious spirit. It's interesting how one can skew history by focusing on one aspect, viewing it through rum-soaked goggles and thereby turning history on its keg...er, head.
All the American text books will have to be re-written. For example, the American Revolution, dubbed the War of Independence by the British Williams, was not fought for freedom from English rule. It was to protest the high tariffs that the sugar lobby in London forced the crown into imposing on the colonies for rum, sugar and molasses imports and exports.
The Boston Tea Party wasn't to protest taxation on tea, or any other form of rebellion. "It was really all about the rum." (pg 166)
Paul Revere stopped at a tavern and threw back a few snorts of rum before setting off on his famous midnight ride. (pg 172)
Williams could not help but take a few shots (no pun intended) of George Washington, who according to the author loved rum SO much, he named his historic home after the man who introduced grog to the navy, Vice Admiral Vernon. By the way, the anniversary of that momentous occasion of the order for grog, August 21, 1740 is just a few short months away. You had better start planning for the big holiday now!
A few days before that, however, is the big bash for Black Tot Day, the day the Admiralty abolished the grog rationing, July 31, 1970.
Williams has other writing credits to his name, but his style of prose makes this book a difficult read. I had to re-read many complex and compound sentences to understand them. He drops in names, perhaps once, with no introduction or follow-up. The reader who may not have been exposed to as many annals of history as Williams is left wondering who he's talking about and why they were included. He digresses often, although I'm (so) sure the logic in these tangents made perfect sense to him and his editor.
He loves to throw in terms like "eleemosynary efforts", "Panglossianly optimistic" and "scofflawlishness". Wow. Flowery language. Yawn.
Stephen King once wrote the road to hell is paved with adverbs. That's all I'm saying.
It's hard to tell if Williams was taking himself seriously with this book, but the reader should not. Rum is worth a look or at least one to keep on the shelf as a reference guide to other references on rum in history.
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