Pipesmoking: A 21st Century Guide

by Richard Carleton Hacker

The author who reintroduced America to pipesmoking has done it again with his newest book. The 165-page softcover contains over 90 never before-seen color and black & white photographs with chapters on pipemaking, buying, smoking (including a step-by-step guide to lighting up), tobaccos, and a "Tobacco Taster's Menu of Blends," describing over 100 commercially available pipe blends. There is even a Pipesmoker's Sourcebook with publications and organizations.

Genres: Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Nicko · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is little doubt Hacker is the authority on pipes. And after reading this book you will be painfully aware of how cool this man is. From his awesome house with more than 2,000 pipes, the the name dropping every other page, to how cool his college car was, this book is actually an amazing resource to pipe smokers of every level. If you can get past Hacker's ego you can find real treasure within the pages.

[PhantomWolf]

It was okay. A coffee table book for newer pipe enthusiasts, though there is nothing here that a few youtube vids wouldn't teach you in minutes.

My opinion- Spend your eight-ten bucks on a tin of Black House and smoke it while reading a novel- Unless you are a collector of tobacciana, then maybe this has a place in your tobacco nook.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Carleton Hacker in Pipesmoking: A 21st Century Guide pushes the idea that most of us don't actually hate our jobs, we hate how little control we have over our own time. I felt like it was solid, because the stories come from warehouse workers, nurses, and delivery drivers instead of office types with a "toxic boss" complaint. The chapter on schedules got me thinking about how much of my life I plan around a shift app that changes every Thursday. You might not agree with every solution, but it definitely forces you to rethink what makes work feel unbearable.

[Adam Barger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extremely informative and well researched book. It could be helpful to new and experienced pipe smokers, though it is less a reference and more a narrative on pipesmoking history, trends, and trivia. Black and white pictures and a somewhat disorganized syntax and flow detract from the book, as does Hacker’s pretentiousness and name-dropping. Worth buying for the pipesmoker’s library, but a firm 3 stars.

[Stephen Horsfall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful general guide.

[Chris · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

I was briefly toying with pipe smoking, just didn't take off for me