Product DescriptionTobacco was first cultivated and enjoyed by the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who used it for medicinal, religious, and social purposes long before the arrival of Columbus. But when Europeans began to colonize the American continents, it became something else entirely — a cultural touchstone of pleasure and success, and a coveted commodity [...]

Continue reading " Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization "

Product DescriptionFrom the long-stemmed pipe to snuff, the water pipe, hand-rolled cigarettes, and finally, manufactured cigarettes, the history of tobacco in China is the fascinating story of a commodity that became a hallmark of modern mass consumerism. Carol Benedict follows the spread of Chinese tobacco use from the sixteenth century, when it was introduced to [...]

Continue reading " Golden-Silk Smoke: A History of Tobacco in China, 1550-2010 "

Product DescriptionWhy do people smoke? Taking a unique approach to this question, Jason Hughes moves beyond the usual focus on biological addiction that dominates news coverage and public health studies and invites us to reconsider how social and personal understandings of smoking crucially affect the way people experience it. Learning to Smoke examines the diverse [...]

Continue reading " Learning to Smoke: Tobacco Use in the West "