The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha

Theravada Buddhism is considered the oldest form of Buddhism, focusing on the historical Buddha, and is mostly practiced in Southeast Asia. In the early seventies, Theravada Buddhism was virtually destroyed in Cambodia amidst the rule of the Khmer Rouge, but has begun to re-emerge over the last few decades.

Stephen T. Asma taught Buddhist philosophy in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia, while traveling extensively throughout the region. The Gods Drink Whiskey describes Asma's experiences of drinking with holy men and poets, encountering with overzealous Christian evangelical missionaries, witnessing a political assassination, and climbing mountains to visit ancient animistic temples. The end result is a compelling, darkly comic, never-before-experienced look into the clash of cultures in a little-known corner of our shrinking world.

Stephen T. Asma is a professor of Buddhism at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of the bestselling Buddha for Beginners (Writers & Readers, 1996), and the highly acclaimed Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums (Oxford, 2002).

"His forays into Southeast Asian politics, violence and globalizing trends, colorfully entertaining as travel writing, illuminate the ways in which Buddhism plays a primary role in the collective welfare of the region."

- Publishers Weekly