Tobacco in History: The Cultures of Dependence Review & Ratings

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Tobacco in History: The Cultures of Dependence Review

This book is an overview of the culture and business of tobacco. After a introductory chapter that covers the botany and chemistry of tobacco, Goodman presents a cultural and economic history of the plant and its products. He begins with Native Americans, who used tobacco in ceremonies and approached it with reverence. He then details how European explorers took tobacco back to Europe, and how its use was quickly adopted there by the general public. Its adoption was hastened by medical reports claiming numerous health benefits of consuming tobacco, from preventing colds to curing bowel ailments. Goodman describes how tobacco played an important role in settling the New World and how its role in the early history of slaving cultures there. He goes on to describe the role that tobacco growing played in colonial economies and how the invention of the mass produced cigarette helped change consumption patterns worldwide. Towards the end of the book, he explores the history of government involvement in tobacco production and consumption, before turning to big business, consolidation and diversification of the tobacco industry. He closes with a short chapter on modern health concerns relating to tobacco, and how they may affect the culture of tobacco consumption and production.
The book is very academic in tone and structure- -it reads like a dissertation. Original sources are cited throughout the text, and there are numerous tables. At the end of the book is a 2-page glossary and a 40-page bibliography. Although Goodman's style is reasonably clear, he does have an annoying habit of explicitly stating his main ideas only at the very end of a section, or at the beginning of the following chapter. If he had introduced his sections with explicit statements of his ideas, the text would have been easier to follow.

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