Imagine researching all the plants that can be turned into an alcoholic beverage. And then documenting all you learned about the project, from flavors to growing techniques to recipes. That’s what the book The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks by Amy Stewart is.

For a book idea, this is a great one. It can sweep across cultures, history, science, agriculture, climate, and even pop culture. It should be funny and informative.

Sadly, I can’t say it lives up to that. It’s still a book of value in many ways. As a reference guide it’s probably unsurpassed. But I picked it up as an audiobook, and all the great sketches and artwork that I see can be had in the print version are not included. Next time I buy the print version, and that’s why the links here are not to the audio version.

A good book that missed being great. A great idea that was not greatly executed.