The book by the famous English cultural scientist Phil Baker tells the amazing history of absinthe from the times of Ancient Greece and Rome to the present day. Banned in the 19th century, first in Switzerland and then in France, where it experienced its golden era (the names of A. de Musset, C. Baudelaire, P. Verlaine, A. Rimbaud, A. Toulouse-Lautrec, V. Van Gogh and other famous poets and artists), this alcoholic drink was declared perhaps the main reason for the general decline in morals. What is absinthe and how does it stand out among other drinks? Why did it cause such horror and possess such attractiveness? The reader will learn about this and much more from this fascinating and informative book, many chapters of which read like a detective story.