The Cultivators Handbook of Natural Tobacco: Second Edition Review & Ratings

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The Cultivators Handbook of Natural Tobacco: Second Edition Review

Bill Drake's book combines a wonderfully relaxed and friendly writing style with a beautiful layout that invites casual reading as well as serious study. He moves smoothly through four major areas: the history of Native American tobacco and its use, the growing of that tobacco and more modern varieties, an attack upon the commercial growing and production of tobacco products using chemicals and additives, and historical notes both extolling and condemning tobacco and its use.
Throughout "Tobacco Culture" Drake supplements his own writing with extensive and fascinating quotes and stories stretching from early Native American history into the 1800s and 1900s of European and modern American history. He shows an awareness of and respect for the health aspects of tobacco use, but clearly appreciates the fact that many tobacco users derive enough good in their life from such use that it may balance those health effects.
He spends one considerable section excoriating modern tobacco companies for what they have done to his beloved traditional tobacco plant and raises the question of how much of the supposed "smoking-related" health effect shown by various studies may actually be an effect of the chemically-intense cultivation and the use of non-tobacco additives to modern commercial products. Very little research has been done on the health effects of smoking pure tobacco since there are relatively few people out there who've spent their smoking lifetime enjoying such a product, but it is indeed quite possible that non-commercial tobacco could prove far safer than its much maligned cousins decorating store racks with all their bright colors and logos.
For those unfamiliar with him, Bill Drake is a cultural hero of old-line 1970s hippies for his Cultivator's Handbook of Marijuana published back in the late 60s (recently followed up with The International Cultivators Handbook: Coca, Opium & Hashish. ) He began experimenting with early Native American tobacco species in the late 70s and went on to found the beloved "American Spirit" brand of cigarettes produced by the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company. Sadly, as he outlines briefly in this book, his early vision for American Spirit and Santa Fe ran into some rocky roads after a few years and was basically swallowed by commercial interests.
I wish I had written this review a month ago as I'd have strongly recommended Tobacco Culture as a Christmas gift for anyone who loves their tobacco or has started to move toward growing their own crop. I'm about a week too late for that particular recommendation, but it would certainly make a great "After Christmas" gift for some folks and I'm sure it would be appreciated. I noticed just now that there is a Kindle edition of "Tobacco Culture" but I think a pure print version such as I believe Kindle offers would lose a lot of the flavor imbued through the author's careful page layouts and illustrations: "Culture" is definitely a beautiful coffee-table and gift book as much as it is a simple cultivator's guide. A definite five stars!
Michael J. McFadden
Author of Dissecting Antismokers' Brains

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