Holy Smoke [Hardcover]

Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

This marvelously readable homage to the cigar is sprinkled with a treasure trove of fascinating anecdotes by the likes of Groucho Marx, Sigmund Freud, Mark Twain, Colette, Orson Welles, and Humphrey Bogart. A natural for Father's Day, this original tribute also includes a history of the cigar and a veritable arsenal of details about cigars and those who smoke them. Colored endpapers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This curious volume is a potpourri of information and lore about cigars, their smokers from Rodrigo de Xeres of Columbus's crew to Winston Churchill and Castro, their manufacture, their sale and their appearance in song and story. All this is presented in a style brim full of literary referencesto Congreve, Conan Doyle, Ogden Nash, Italo Calvino and other writersthrough every paragraph. The cigar-smoking on-screen images of W. C. Fields, Groucho Marx, Orson Welles and Gary Cooper are evoked; the author also considers cigarettes and their contrasting Hollywood image. The word play is sometimes clever, sometimes weak, but Infante keeps adding puns until the practice becomes wearing. His erudition is impressive, though, and his topic entertaining, so readers interested in the subject should find the book enjoyable. Infante's earlier books include Three Trapped Tigers and Infante's Inferno. February 13
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With just about every actor and actress in Hollywood discovering cigars and the emergence of such places as cigar bars, a book about the wonderful world of cigars is to be expected. Fortunately, Cuban novelist Cabrera Infante (Mea Cuba, LJ 11/1/94) has written that book. It is a rollicking look at the history, production, use, and glories of the cigar, with a consideration of its role in society and Hollywood. Cabrera Infante uses a lot of word play and humor to sing the praises of his subject. There will likely be only a limited audience for this book, given the subject, so it may be considered on optional purchase, but the writing is first-rate.?Robert A. Curtis, Taylor Memorial P.L., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; Gift edition (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879517654
• ISBN-13: 978-0879517656
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,424,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Romp, July 17, 2005

By 

R. Swanson "wwi" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Smoke (Paperback)

Great romp through history and literature, definitely free-association. If you enjoy cigars, literature, movies, history, etc, this is a fun book to read. Enjoy in small bites, its pretty rich. Perhaps the experience is a bit like enjoying a cigar: smoke one now, savor it, but don't smoke through the entire box all at once!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny Book, March 26, 2011

By 

C. Brown "Beach Bum" (On a Texas island) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Holy Smoke (Paperback)

Be sure you are well read before reading this book. This guy is funny and entertaining, but it helps to capture his literary and language references (you do speak French and Spanish, right?) I like the book in spite of taking German. I have used Google to help me get the entire thrust of the scene but generally it comes across. This guy is really smart and I like the book.