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Kulturowa historia tytoniu
Iain Gately (ur. 1965), brytyjski pisarz, autor powieści, a jednocześnie historyk kultury, opisał dwa nader ważne (nawet jeśli mało poważne) zjawiska kulturowe: picie (alkoholu) i palenie (tytoniu). „Kulturowa historia alkoholu” (Wydawnictwo Aletheia, Warszawa 2011) relacjonuje historię pierwszego, niniejszy tom – drugiego zjawiska. Panuje opinia, że historia tytoniu Gately’ego to najlepsza rzecz, jaką na ten temat dotychczas napisano. Żywa, pełna humoru narracja i sensacyjne fakty są jak zwykle zaletą tego pisarstwa. Autor rekonstruuje doniosłość dla historii zjawisk, zdawałoby się, trywialnych. Uprawa tytoniu była podstawą bytu pierwszych amerykańskich kolonii i odegrała niepoślednią rolę w finansowaniu amerykańskiej rewolucji (większość sygnatariuszy Deklaracji Niepodległości uprawiała tę roślinę). Palono od tysięcy lat – najpierw prawdopodobnie w Ameryce Południowej. Biały człowiek jednak nie tylko palił, lecz także żuł tytoń i zażywał tabaki. Bywały okresy, że te formy spożycia dominowały. Gately przywołuje obrazy przeszłości, o których nawet byśmy nie pomyśleli – jak zaplute dywany amerykańskiego Kongresu we wczesnym XIX wieku, gdy dominowało żucie tytoniu. Papierosy są późnym, ale najpopularniejszym dziś wynalazkiem. W 1945 roku w Anglii paliło je 80% mężczyzn. Na koniec przeczytamy o cygarze Clintona w … Moniki i – cóż, w końcu nie jest to opowieść o przyjemnostkach, lecz historia szaleństwa ludzkości – o groźbie raka płuc jakże późno odkrytej, bo dopiero pół wieku temu.
420 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
January 10, 2022
A very enjoyable and interesting read filled with not only the history of tobacco, but a world history from the discovery of tobacco by Europeans in the 1400's and how it has influenced the world ever since. In the book it shows how tobacco use evolved through the ages to where we are today with cigarettes being the most widely used. The book mostly focuses on tobacco in America and Britain/Western Europe with the rest of the world also being touched upon and how this simple plant could be a ruler in itself over people and how it influences the way people live, trade and interact on an everyday basis. Recommended if you are interested in the subject.
Want to Read
August 26, 2021Tobacco (smoking) killed my father. Add to that the fact that I grew up on a farm in rural Maryland where it was grown, cured and prepared for market. Thus my interest. An intriguing read!
April 24, 2020
An exhaustive history of tobacco usage from prehistoric America to the end of the 1990’s. And I mean exhaustive; the book devotes a whole chapter to every half-century past Columbus’ landing, and then a chapter for every 20 or 30 years coming closer to the dawn of more recent times. Here it becomes tedious, but still informative.
The author fails in one important regard: in the last three chapters, which focus on the 1960’s through the 90’s, the author sheds the neutral historian perspective and paints the anti-smoking activists as the villains, with the tobacco companies as the victims of senseless harassment.
It does not mention the “cigarette papers,” which is an unforgivable omission, as this book was published in 2001, long after The Cigarette Papers was published. In fact, the book implies the tobacco companies willfully confessed due to a court order, but that’s not true. An anonymous whistleblower leaked the most damning documents, and the tobacco companies fought hard to have them returned. There was nothing willful about tobacco’s “confession,” and the book does not even elaborate on what the tobacco companies “confessed” to.
The last few chapters were supposed to be about how the tobacco companies knew their products were dangerous but covered it up. The book does not mention this. It seems to imply the restrictions on the tobacco companies beginning in the 70’s, and the push against smoking in general, were the actions of a bunch of opportunistic gold diggers who seized upon some flimsy statistics and pseudoscience so they could make money by suing tobacco companies. It focuses on the more laughable activities of the anti-smoking groups trying and failing to spread propaganda on the harm of cigarettes than the activities of the tobacco companies to push their products and cover up the medical knowledge that tobacco most certainly caused cancer.
The book presents the health risks as frivolous, unfounded concerns, and this sudden bias is uncalled for in an otherwise scholarly history. It even asserts there has still been no conclusive link between cancer and smoking. Uh, not since The Cigarette Papers was published.
I wish the author had maintained the historian’s perspective regarding events within his own lifetime because it is a worthwhile read on the history of tobacco. Trends that have come and gone, how royal preference filtered down to the commoners, and how tobacco was the major reason colonies abroad succeeded during the age of imperialism.
Without unbiased details on the most recent development in tobacco’s history, it becomes an unsatisfying read because there’s no conclusion. It seems like a natural progression: tobacco grips mankind, and then in the twentieth century we realized how harmful it was the whole time. That’s not the angle the book takes; it implies the push against smoking is bad, and tobacco is good!
What the big companies did when they realized their product was harmful should have been worth including in a history on tobacco, but the book does not address it at all, and that pissed me off. Only passing mention of their ad campaigns targeting teenagers? No mention of their efforts to push their products into foreign countries and suing the governments to prevent being regulated when people start dying? No mention of all the outrageous additives they put in tobacco over the years, like antifreeze? No mention of their own internal studies confirming the link between tobacco and cancer, and how they denied it publicly and pushed their products even harder? Zero attention to the industry’s rewriting and republishing scientific studies to create doubt in the public sphere? These omissions piss me off, and they make this “cultural history” not just incomplete, but borderline deceptive.
The author fails in one important regard: in the last three chapters, which focus on the 1960’s through the 90’s, the author sheds the neutral historian perspective and paints the anti-smoking activists as the villains, with the tobacco companies as the victims of senseless harassment.
It does not mention the “cigarette papers,” which is an unforgivable omission, as this book was published in 2001, long after The Cigarette Papers was published. In fact, the book implies the tobacco companies willfully confessed due to a court order, but that’s not true. An anonymous whistleblower leaked the most damning documents, and the tobacco companies fought hard to have them returned. There was nothing willful about tobacco’s “confession,” and the book does not even elaborate on what the tobacco companies “confessed” to.
The last few chapters were supposed to be about how the tobacco companies knew their products were dangerous but covered it up. The book does not mention this. It seems to imply the restrictions on the tobacco companies beginning in the 70’s, and the push against smoking in general, were the actions of a bunch of opportunistic gold diggers who seized upon some flimsy statistics and pseudoscience so they could make money by suing tobacco companies. It focuses on the more laughable activities of the anti-smoking groups trying and failing to spread propaganda on the harm of cigarettes than the activities of the tobacco companies to push their products and cover up the medical knowledge that tobacco most certainly caused cancer.
The book presents the health risks as frivolous, unfounded concerns, and this sudden bias is uncalled for in an otherwise scholarly history. It even asserts there has still been no conclusive link between cancer and smoking. Uh, not since The Cigarette Papers was published.
I wish the author had maintained the historian’s perspective regarding events within his own lifetime because it is a worthwhile read on the history of tobacco. Trends that have come and gone, how royal preference filtered down to the commoners, and how tobacco was the major reason colonies abroad succeeded during the age of imperialism.
Without unbiased details on the most recent development in tobacco’s history, it becomes an unsatisfying read because there’s no conclusion. It seems like a natural progression: tobacco grips mankind, and then in the twentieth century we realized how harmful it was the whole time. That’s not the angle the book takes; it implies the push against smoking is bad, and tobacco is good!
What the big companies did when they realized their product was harmful should have been worth including in a history on tobacco, but the book does not address it at all, and that pissed me off. Only passing mention of their ad campaigns targeting teenagers? No mention of their efforts to push their products into foreign countries and suing the governments to prevent being regulated when people start dying? No mention of all the outrageous additives they put in tobacco over the years, like antifreeze? No mention of their own internal studies confirming the link between tobacco and cancer, and how they denied it publicly and pushed their products even harder? Zero attention to the industry’s rewriting and republishing scientific studies to create doubt in the public sphere? These omissions piss me off, and they make this “cultural history” not just incomplete, but borderline deceptive.
December 22, 2016
كيف استغلّنا الطبّاق؟
أو كيف استغليناه؟
جاء الطبّاق (التوباكو) من العالم الجديد -أميركا- حيث عُد لقرون نبتة مقدسة ذات طقوس تدخين هي في صلب طقوس الزعامة والطبابة والحرب.
الملك البريطاني جورج اعتبره وارداً من عوالم المتوحشين في العالم الجديد ورجساً شيطانياً. لم يتمكن من منعه ففرض عليه ضرائب جعلته ثرياً جداً.
السلطان مراد الرابع حرّمه من منطلق أنه ليس هناك نص صريح بإباحته (!) وورد عنه أنه أعدم ٢٥ ألفاً خلال ١٤ سنة بتهمة تعاطي الدخان. شاه إيران كان يصب الرصاص في حلق من يتلبس بالجُرم.
كيف رسم التدخين ملامح تاريخنا، ثقافتنا، شخصياتنا وجعلنا على البشر الذين نحن اليوم؟
كتاب تأريخي ثري ومسلٍ جداً.
أو كيف استغليناه؟
جاء الطبّاق (التوباكو) من العالم الجديد -أميركا- حيث عُد لقرون نبتة مقدسة ذات طقوس تدخين هي في صلب طقوس الزعامة والطبابة والحرب.
الملك البريطاني جورج اعتبره وارداً من عوالم المتوحشين في العالم الجديد ورجساً شيطانياً. لم يتمكن من منعه ففرض عليه ضرائب جعلته ثرياً جداً.
السلطان مراد الرابع حرّمه من منطلق أنه ليس هناك نص صريح بإباحته (!) وورد عنه أنه أعدم ٢٥ ألفاً خلال ١٤ سنة بتهمة تعاطي الدخان. شاه إيران كان يصب الرصاص في حلق من يتلبس بالجُرم.
كيف رسم التدخين ملامح تاريخنا، ثقافتنا، شخصياتنا وجعلنا على البشر الذين نحن اليوم؟
كتاب تأريخي ثري ومسلٍ جداً.
June 6, 2020
This is a well written, well researched, and thorough account of the history of tobacco. The detail is what makes this a fascinating read. The chronology of tobacco growing across the world, and how different changing trends meant tobacco was popular for pipes, snuff, cigars and cigarettes at different times is explained clearly.
References to the effects of smoking, good and bad, are discussed throughout as well as the huge amounts of money accumulated from government taxes.
The final part of the book gives instructions on how to grow your own tobacco - it only takes twenty four weeks! A captivating and compelling account.
References to the effects of smoking, good and bad, are discussed throughout as well as the huge amounts of money accumulated from government taxes.
The final part of the book gives instructions on how to grow your own tobacco - it only takes twenty four weeks! A captivating and compelling account.
January 4, 2008
What a humorous, detailed book. Topics included New World cultivation, Old World imperialism, the formation of big business tobacco, and the changing fashion (Edward Gibbon...film stars) and science of how people take it (snuff...cigarettes). The American-ness of Tobacco is a theme throughout, but Gately touches on tobacco cultivation and use around the globe.
Gately writes with loads of personality, too. He likes the word 'whore' and dislikes King James I ('He hated tobacco and was an active hater. He also hated sex with women but that was harder to tax.') Oh, James.
Gately writes with loads of personality, too. He likes the word 'whore' and dislikes King James I ('He hated tobacco and was an active hater. He also hated sex with women but that was harder to tax.') Oh, James.
March 5, 2025
Da jeg hadde verdenshistorie som fag på skolen, var jeg skuffet over hvor preget pensum var av geopolitikk, særlig kriger. Jeg husker jeg tenkte «Hva med hvordan folk faktisk har levd oppigjennom? Kan vi ikke heller få høre om hvordan det var da folk fikk vaskemaskin i hus?»
Jeg har nå omsider funnet en god oppskrift for å dykke ned i verdenshistorien på: Velg et smalt kulturelt tema, og se hvordan det har blitt påvirket av – og hvordan det har påvirket – kulturer og verdens utvikling gjennom århundrene.
Denne gangen var temaet tobakk, og reisen var veldig interessant.
Her er vi innom hvordan tobakk spilte en viktig rolle i hvordan europeernes fotfeste i den nye verden (Amerika) utspilte seg, tilfeller hvor sigaretter har vært et lands mest pålitelige valuta, tobakkselskapenes påvirkning på både industrialisering og reklame, Napoleons ganske heftige tobakksvaner, og hvordan kulturens syn på sigarett- vs. sigarrøkeren har variert voldsomt. Vi får også lære om tidlige sigarer som var føkkings over en meter lange.
Kilder om tobakk og nikotin faller typisk i to kategorier: 90 prosent er av typen «det dreper deg, alt må forbys, Big Tobacco er Djevelen selv!», og 9 prosent er av typen «Jeg vil være James Dean, sigg er digg! Guttaaaa!». Denne historieleksjonen tilhører den siste gjenværende prosenten, og oppleves imponerende objektiv – i alle fall helt frem til det veldig malplasserte vedlegget «How to Grow Tobacco» som er akkurat det det høres ut som.
Boka er etter hva jeg kan forstå fra 2005, og mangler derfor dessverre det som ville vært et interessant kapittel om den forestående omveltningen fra røyk til vaping og snus.
Jeg har nå omsider funnet en god oppskrift for å dykke ned i verdenshistorien på: Velg et smalt kulturelt tema, og se hvordan det har blitt påvirket av – og hvordan det har påvirket – kulturer og verdens utvikling gjennom århundrene.
Denne gangen var temaet tobakk, og reisen var veldig interessant.
Her er vi innom hvordan tobakk spilte en viktig rolle i hvordan europeernes fotfeste i den nye verden (Amerika) utspilte seg, tilfeller hvor sigaretter har vært et lands mest pålitelige valuta, tobakkselskapenes påvirkning på både industrialisering og reklame, Napoleons ganske heftige tobakksvaner, og hvordan kulturens syn på sigarett- vs. sigarrøkeren har variert voldsomt. Vi får også lære om tidlige sigarer som var føkkings over en meter lange.
Kilder om tobakk og nikotin faller typisk i to kategorier: 90 prosent er av typen «det dreper deg, alt må forbys, Big Tobacco er Djevelen selv!», og 9 prosent er av typen «Jeg vil være James Dean, sigg er digg! Guttaaaa!». Denne historieleksjonen tilhører den siste gjenværende prosenten, og oppleves imponerende objektiv – i alle fall helt frem til det veldig malplasserte vedlegget «How to Grow Tobacco» som er akkurat det det høres ut som.
Boka er etter hva jeg kan forstå fra 2005, og mangler derfor dessverre det som ville vært et interessant kapittel om den forestående omveltningen fra røyk til vaping og snus.
November 22, 2023
I enjoyed this book, the story and the connection to early American history and how that early history also blossomed into industry and trade in Europe along with the slave trade in Africa.
January 4, 2025
As someone who struggles to read non-fiction, this book delivered such an engaging and witty view of history through the lense of tobacco that kept me reading. I took 178 notes/highlights as I read, all things that felt mind blowing to me. The intwinement of the tobacco plant with human civilization is fascinating, and well documented here.
July 12, 2023
I miss smoking :( wild to learn how tobacco was central to basically everything post-1650s
December 17, 2025
For some reason my previous review was wiped out. This was a fantastic book that was so interesting & engaging. I especially loved the parts discussing the origins and first uses of tobacco by indigenous cultures of the Americas. As a Cuban-American, cigars have always had a special place in my heart. It's something that my father & I have always bonded over. This book inspired me to try some pipes for tobacco smoking and my father couldn't have been more excited.
December 25, 2017
Kitab 2016-dan rəfdə idi. 2016, Karl! Kitabın adı hər şeyi deyir. Ətraflı və olduqca bol məlumatlarla zəngindir. Kitabın əvvəlini başqa elektron vəsaitdən oxuduğumdan o hissələrin faktlarını ayırmamışam. Qalan MƏNƏ maraqlı gələn hər şeyi sitatlara (bookmate) əlavə etmişəm. Sizə uyğundursa, oxuyun.
Və unutmayın, siqaret çəkmək sağlamlığınıza ziyandır.
Və unutmayın, siqaret çəkmək sağlamlığınıza ziyandır.
January 30, 2023
A really good history of tobacco. I really like how Gately brings in literary and cinematic portrayals of tobacco (as well as alcohol in his Drink history) and strives to show the cultural perception of the object.
April 3, 2020
This book was a great history read. I never would have thought there was such a rich history around one plant. This book brings you on the journey of the plant that took over the world.
November 27, 2024
This fascinating book has a little bit of everything: history, unusual facts, humor, and much food for thought. I highly recommend it!
February 8, 2026
Exhaustive, interesting, enjoyable, biased. A journalistic history of tobacco by a tobaccophile. Still, worth the read.
February 4, 2026
Absolutely fascinating.
May 8, 2009
Wow! A captivating history book about one of my top five favorite things in the world. Mr. Gately's eye for picking out the fascinating aspects of history is unmatched in any other history book I've read. From the obscure Indian tribe whose rite of passage to adulthood includes a ritual wherein the adolescent's mother bites off one of his testicles, to the steamy latin maidens rolling cigars in factories dressed only in their underwear (with, of course, flowers in their hair) smoking papillotes (the precursor to and the reason for modern day cigarettes), to Pocahontas first attracting the attention of Mr. John Rolfe by turning naked somersaults through Jamestown's public square, this book is a rollicking romp through the real side of history: the human side.
July 25, 2016
Bardzo sprawnie napisana przekrojówka, czasem bagatelizująca inne czynniki historyczne danych wydarzeń jak tytoń, ale cóż się dziwić? Dużo humoru, kilka odniesień kulturowych. Trzeba będzie sięgnąć jeszcze po historie alkoholu także Gately'ego.
Read
November 8, 2021A nice overview
There are some Interesting insights and stories in the book, but the 20th century sections are not that satisfying. Still worth a read.
There are some Interesting insights and stories in the book, but the 20th century sections are not that satisfying. Still worth a read.
July 26, 2018
3 stars because i liked it.
Tobacco at first glance seems to be a wide scoping historical compendium of all things tobacco. Overall, it somewhat succeeds at this, but is limiting in several ways.
The book mostly focuses on the history of tobacco in the US and in the UK, but starts off with quite a lot of detail about how native americans, north and south, used tobacco. This some of the strongest and most interesting material of the book. The gradual integration of tobacco into the maritime european powers culture is also extensively detailed. From there, the book isolates its focus almost too much on the UK/US. China, Japan are mentioned here and there but mostly for amusing anecdotes as opposed to going into significant detail.
The US colonial section is quite good, and makes me question how tobacco played into all of the early US history. This is probably the bit that I will remember most vividly.
The last third of the book focuses on domestic culture around cigarettes in both the UK and the US, but with majority US focus. Gately shows how white of a white guy he is by neglecting to even mention menthols and the marketing to african americans, swisher sweets / black and milds, etc. I thought this to be a glaring ommission. Menthols are given about two lines in the entire book.
Cannabis is mentioned but again no mention of use of cigars in its extensive use in that subucuylture.. I would have though the author being a cigar afficiando would make sure to note the revivalness.
I would have also liked if Gately could have gone "full circle" bring back on how smoking is so endemic to reservations (both tax free sale and consumption), with some of the highest lung cancer rates in the US. Missed opportunity.
There is 0 discussion around electronic cigarettes because they didnt really exist when this was written.
Yet there is a lot of discussion around how the risk of second hand smoke is largely overplayed. While this may be true, i thought the reinforced focus on this was a bit of an agenda, and felt out of place in a historical summary.
In conclusion, i would have preferred both a wider and deeper discussion around tobacco. I would have liked to learn more about the different varieties of the plant (i was really interested when its mentioned sporadically through the tome), go into more detail into non-cigarettes, go into more detail about menthol (how is it viewed globally? is it an american thing? i have no idea), and provide a more global viewpoint.
Good book, but could be better with a decent revision/expansion.
Tobacco at first glance seems to be a wide scoping historical compendium of all things tobacco. Overall, it somewhat succeeds at this, but is limiting in several ways.
The book mostly focuses on the history of tobacco in the US and in the UK, but starts off with quite a lot of detail about how native americans, north and south, used tobacco. This some of the strongest and most interesting material of the book. The gradual integration of tobacco into the maritime european powers culture is also extensively detailed. From there, the book isolates its focus almost too much on the UK/US. China, Japan are mentioned here and there but mostly for amusing anecdotes as opposed to going into significant detail.
The US colonial section is quite good, and makes me question how tobacco played into all of the early US history. This is probably the bit that I will remember most vividly.
The last third of the book focuses on domestic culture around cigarettes in both the UK and the US, but with majority US focus. Gately shows how white of a white guy he is by neglecting to even mention menthols and the marketing to african americans, swisher sweets / black and milds, etc. I thought this to be a glaring ommission. Menthols are given about two lines in the entire book.
Cannabis is mentioned but again no mention of use of cigars in its extensive use in that subucuylture.. I would have though the author being a cigar afficiando would make sure to note the revivalness.
I would have also liked if Gately could have gone "full circle" bring back on how smoking is so endemic to reservations (both tax free sale and consumption), with some of the highest lung cancer rates in the US. Missed opportunity.
There is 0 discussion around electronic cigarettes because they didnt really exist when this was written.
Yet there is a lot of discussion around how the risk of second hand smoke is largely overplayed. While this may be true, i thought the reinforced focus on this was a bit of an agenda, and felt out of place in a historical summary.
In conclusion, i would have preferred both a wider and deeper discussion around tobacco. I would have liked to learn more about the different varieties of the plant (i was really interested when its mentioned sporadically through the tome), go into more detail into non-cigarettes, go into more detail about menthol (how is it viewed globally? is it an american thing? i have no idea), and provide a more global viewpoint.
Good book, but could be better with a decent revision/expansion.
October 22, 2024
Well, let's say 4.5 stars....I've smoked once in my 45 years of life and really didn't like it. But I LOVED this book! Gately gives a comprehensive coverage of the story of tobacco....for the white man. Still, from that point of view alone he manages to make it very interesting for the most part, although it does lag a bit for the last part. And I didn't read the bit on how to grow your own bacco.
I also felt he was much more unbiased than many reviews on here claim him to be. While he did not hide what the moralists did to push their agenda, neither did he do it for the corporations either. And at least they didn't cut holes in the throats of dogs to see how many could smoke and get cancer! By that statement, you can tell I am at least a little biased. But that is mainly cos there is a lot of misinformation coming from the health side, especially cancer societies. Granted, also from manufacturer's side but they are supposed to be scum and don't hide it. Health side lies about risks and tries to frighten people into following them much like religion did for so long. That's my rant anyway....
The book is humorous, does not pull punches and shows one a side of capitalism and even the Founding Fathers that matched well with the data I got from Zinn's Peoples History book I was reading simultaneously. I felt the latter bit fell somewhat because it had to devolve into legal and marketing data more than fun stories for the most part. There was still good stuff in the research paths though....Grab it and enjoy it!
I also felt he was much more unbiased than many reviews on here claim him to be. While he did not hide what the moralists did to push their agenda, neither did he do it for the corporations either. And at least they didn't cut holes in the throats of dogs to see how many could smoke and get cancer! By that statement, you can tell I am at least a little biased. But that is mainly cos there is a lot of misinformation coming from the health side, especially cancer societies. Granted, also from manufacturer's side but they are supposed to be scum and don't hide it. Health side lies about risks and tries to frighten people into following them much like religion did for so long. That's my rant anyway....
The book is humorous, does not pull punches and shows one a side of capitalism and even the Founding Fathers that matched well with the data I got from Zinn's Peoples History book I was reading simultaneously. I felt the latter bit fell somewhat because it had to devolve into legal and marketing data more than fun stories for the most part. There was still good stuff in the research paths though....Grab it and enjoy it!
January 21, 2020
This book is a blast, despite the semi-problematic title. Looking at the vast sweep of how tobacco and it's trade has changed and been changed by the world is fascinating, and this book is also chock-full of truly bonkers tidbits, like Dutch medicinal baby pipes, city-sized snuff factories and more.
But it's not just in the minutia that this book shines. It also dives deep into why smoking has evolved to be the way that it is, and the people and movements that have defined it. The author clearly holds a deep affection for the subject (sometimes to the point of advocating smoking, to be honest), and communicates his fascination through the text. One down note is that sometimes that writing can become condescending when the author encounters a historical personage or movement that he does not agree with, but I would rather have an account that is sometimes skewed and flavored by the viewpoint of the author than one that refuses to engage with history on a personal level.
All in all, really enjoyed this book and I would wholeheartedly reccomend it for any fan of microhistories.
But it's not just in the minutia that this book shines. It also dives deep into why smoking has evolved to be the way that it is, and the people and movements that have defined it. The author clearly holds a deep affection for the subject (sometimes to the point of advocating smoking, to be honest), and communicates his fascination through the text. One down note is that sometimes that writing can become condescending when the author encounters a historical personage or movement that he does not agree with, but I would rather have an account that is sometimes skewed and flavored by the viewpoint of the author than one that refuses to engage with history on a personal level.
All in all, really enjoyed this book and I would wholeheartedly reccomend it for any fan of microhistories.
September 18, 2023
A lot of interesting history on tobacco and its trade and use. BUT once I got to more modern history the author started throwing out statements like "temperance was a trojan horse for getting women the right to vote" and "rock and roll came from slave chants in Mississippi." Both of which were such weird distillation of really complex subjects. So that made me question whether the earlier history in the book could be trusted. (I'm guessing no.) Also at one point the author says that cigarettes cause heart disease because nicotine speeds up your heart and your heart can only been so many times in your lifetime, nicotine kills you because you go through your available heartbeats faster. Which is just wrong on a lot of levels.
Also, the author's view of the anti-smoking movement is that it's entirely composed of people looking to get rich and/or famous by attacking smoking, or people who have no good reason to hate smoking other than that they hate joy. Just bizarre.
Also, the author's view of the anti-smoking movement is that it's entirely composed of people looking to get rich and/or famous by attacking smoking, or people who have no good reason to hate smoking other than that they hate joy. Just bizarre.
January 18, 2024
My Amazon review on May 20, 2018: Fun and educational read
This was fairly educational, entertaining and witty. I think it could have used a chapter on the science of tobacco itself, how different climatic regimes or soil types affect the product. But it is advertised as a 'cultural' history. Yet he tended to veer into actual history too often with erroneous or questionable assertions about events or trends that had with little to do with tobacco. For instance, a statement asserting the superiority of British cavalry in the Napoleonic wars is irrelevant if not false and has naught to do with tobacco. Overall though, a quick and interesting tour the through rise and near fall of the tobacco plant on our planet. I learned some interesting factoids. Duke U. is named after a tobacco baron! Surprised they haven't renamed it yet!
This was fairly educational, entertaining and witty. I think it could have used a chapter on the science of tobacco itself, how different climatic regimes or soil types affect the product. But it is advertised as a 'cultural' history. Yet he tended to veer into actual history too often with erroneous or questionable assertions about events or trends that had with little to do with tobacco. For instance, a statement asserting the superiority of British cavalry in the Napoleonic wars is irrelevant if not false and has naught to do with tobacco. Overall though, a quick and interesting tour the through rise and near fall of the tobacco plant on our planet. I learned some interesting factoids. Duke U. is named after a tobacco baron! Surprised they haven't renamed it yet!
May 6, 2023
Another one of those books picked up “on spec” that turns out to be an excellent read.
As well as a myriad of facts about the very interesting story of tobacco it also incorporates a lot of general history.
It was intriguing to read of the various bans on tobacco and smoking over the centuries, the rapidity of its spread throughout the world and the way different cultures used it. The widespread sues a substance that is not essential to survival says much about human nature and the addictive qualities of tobacco. It was NOT rationed in or after WW2 when essentials were. The taxes on it helped fund many wars over the centuries.
He writes with an easy and slightly irreverent style that is refreshing.
Now to seek out his other titles.
As well as a myriad of facts about the very interesting story of tobacco it also incorporates a lot of general history.
It was intriguing to read of the various bans on tobacco and smoking over the centuries, the rapidity of its spread throughout the world and the way different cultures used it. The widespread sues a substance that is not essential to survival says much about human nature and the addictive qualities of tobacco. It was NOT rationed in or after WW2 when essentials were. The taxes on it helped fund many wars over the centuries.
He writes with an easy and slightly irreverent style that is refreshing.
Now to seek out his other titles.
November 1, 2023
I found the history presented quite interesting. The history of tobacco is intricately intertwined with the history of the Americas. The author being English, we also get a heavy dose of British marketing history.
As another reviewer mentioned, the author being a connoisseur of cigars himself, he does a poor job giving more legitimacy to the proponents of anti-tobacco movements.
Being a supposed journalist, I was surprised the author was not more clear in his writing. I had to reread multiple statements to make sense out of them.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It has been a companion during my spell of COVID. There is potential here for a great story, and the author almost hit the mark.
As another reviewer mentioned, the author being a connoisseur of cigars himself, he does a poor job giving more legitimacy to the proponents of anti-tobacco movements.
Being a supposed journalist, I was surprised the author was not more clear in his writing. I had to reread multiple statements to make sense out of them.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It has been a companion during my spell of COVID. There is potential here for a great story, and the author almost hit the mark.
December 27, 2019
If you’re interested in the history of tobacco, or even trade (broadly) and its impacts on world history, this book will likely be a winner for you. The first 20% of the book is well written, with comedic - borderline snarky - quips that keeps pace. Moving into the sections covering mid-1700s through the early-1900s are a bit of a slow burn, and the final 15% is downright preachy regarding the anti-smoking lobby and dismissive of most smoking/cancer-causal research from the 1960s onward. Worth three stars for the research and initial enthusiasm of both the author and this reader, but not deserving of four due to the author’s palpable loss of interest and soapboxing.
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November 26, 2022This account was an amazingly intimate and interesting portrait of a plant. The author does a wonderful job of capturing the history of tobacco and its influence on human behavior from prehistory to modern day while maintaining a unbiased stance. He sheds light on the religious practices in native cultures, the colonialism and use of tobacco as currency, how it perpetuated the slave trade, how it spread through the world and how different societies embraced or demonized (literally) its use. With plenty of scientific research and historical records referenced throughout, this narrative felt well researched and diplomatic in its approach.
November 11, 2018
I have this author's companion book about the history of alcoholic drinks. This books concerning tobacco is another winner and one that is very interesting. Mankind's addiction and pursuit of tobacco goes back to ancient times. When the British colonies, of what would later become the United States, the colonists were ordered to plant tobacco whether or not the plant would grow in the new colonies. Some interesting historical facts written in the wry humor of the author.
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