Milwaukee's history is tied with Beer. Miller still stands as a big beer brand. Schlitz was once a dominate brand that ranked number one or two nationally. Then they tried to cut costs to disastrous consequences. Pabst is another big one that declined in part due to limitations of the charitable ownership. All have been acquired by other companies. Miller is the only one that maintains a large brewery presence in Milwaukee.
The book touches the surface and feels like a series of college essays rather than one coherent work. Chapters typically focus on a single company from their origin to modern times. The chapters on the big brewers are interesting including covering ones that have lost significance (like Gettelman). Then things dive off. Modern craft brewers and distillers don't have nearly as much historical panache. The book also suffers from lack of maps to understand where things were happening geographically.
