The book contains much information about the types that become addicted to alcohol, the physiology and metabolism of alcohol, and the cardinal signs and symptoms of the progress of the disease, alcoholism. The various treatments by creation of aversion are discussed.

Some psychiatrists have been interested in those relatives of their alcoholic patients who suddenly stopped drinking without medical treatment in the years before Alcoholics Anonymous. Such cures always have included a revolutionary change, a sudden growth in the personality, something akin to a religious conversion. The author stresses the significance of religious conversion and reviews the familiar steps of participation in Alcoholics Anonymous. The movement is an interesting and powerful antibody in society against self-destructive drives of those addicted to the 'sweet poison'. Most patients suffering from alcoholism who come under psychiatric care in mental hospitals have tried Alcoholics Anonymous. All are encouraged