Gurstelle, William. Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously. Chicago Review Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1556528224 224 pp. $24.95

**

Gurstelle talks about the purpose of risk-taking before offering a number of fairly safe ways to indulge in things that get one’s adrenaline pumping, like model rocketry and homemade flamethrowers as well as thrill eating (pufferfish) and drinking absinthe.

I was surprised that the safety tips, which he precluded with instructions to “skim around in the book, but this is really important! don’t skip it!” didn’t appear until page 36 or so. That, along with a section on how to smoke to convey character, made it very putdownable for me.