Holy Smoke

When Columbus first came across tobacco in Cuba he was unimpressed--he was looking for gold. How could he know that tobacco would become the multi-million-dollar business that it is today? And that the island of Cuba was destined to produce the best cigars in the world? Holy Smoke is Cabrera Infante's outrageous and informative account of the amazing story of the cigar, from those early beginnings in 1492 to the sophisticated Cohibas of today. The importance of the brand (and the band); cultivation and manufacture; how to cut and how to smoke; why a cigarette is not a cigar: Cabrera Infante includes a wealth of fascinating material, including references from the worlds of literature and film. This is the funniest, most original tribute to the cigar ever written.--From publisher description.