It appears the cigar has arrived. Long relegated to boardroom or back room card table, the cigar has emerged into broad daylight, attaining mass appeal while holding on to its macho mystique. And amid the available (or not so available) assortment of cigars, the Havana stands head and shoulders above the rest. Grown on patches of land at the western tip of Cuba, cured, and rolled following centuries-old traditions, for decades illegal in the United States, it has a flavor -- and a cachet -- all its own.
After two years in Cuba researching the production of the cigar, Charles Del Todesco has pulled together a remarkable two-part testament to this legendary status symbol. In part one he reviews the hollowed history of cigars in Cuba, then describes in detail the processes involved in creating them. The color photographs that accompany his cogent text reveal the beauty of the land and the hands and faces of the craftsmen and women behind each new Havana. Part two is an invaluable cigar reference, featuring a catalogue raisonne that provides a handsome portfolio of all Havana cigars currently available, shown actual size. An ideal introduction for the cigar neophyte as well as a superb guide for the experienced smoker, The Havana Cigar is, like its subject, without peer.
Written with the passion of an obsessive, Nicotine addresses a lifelong addiction, from the thrill of the first drag to the perennial last last cigarette. Reflecting on his experiences as a smoker from a young age, Gregor Hens investigates the irreversible effects of nicotine on thought and patterns of behavior. He extends the conversation with other smokers to meditations on Mark Twain and Italo Svevo, the nature of habit, and the validity of hypnosis. With comic insight and meticulous precision, Hens deconstructs every facet of dependency, offering a brilliant analysis of the psychopathology of addiction. This is a book about the physical, emotional, and psychological power of nicotine as not only an addictive drug, but also a gateway to memory, a long trail of streetlights in the rearview mirror of a smoker's life. Cigarettes are sometimes a solace, sometimes a weakness, but always a witness and companion. This is a meditation, an ode, and a eulogy, one that will be passed hand-to-hand between close friends.
A fascinating foray into the realm of tobacco, which was first cultivated and used for medicinal, religious, and social purposes, traces its evolution from a neccessity to a coveted commodity that would forever change the economy by documenting the history of this illustrious plant, from its use as the sacred calumet of the Plains Indians to the controversy surrounding it today. Reprint.
This copy has two instances of text pasted down and one black box of text- still readable and a bit curious.
