The Ultimate Cigar Book: 4th Edition

Lots of great information in this book if you want to learn about cigars, from the basics to how they're made and where the tobacco is grown. Very good read.

Beautifully written booked!

First readability is good. So much valuable information, but doesn't have a textbook feel at any point. It very refreshing to enjoy start to finish. So much about the cigar world history, types, knowledge of brands. It's one that will stay on my shelf and no be donated or sold at a garage sale. One I would not hesitate lending to a friend that enjoyed cigars. I highly recommend.

This was an interesting read. It's full of information about cigars, from the history of them and the brands, to how they're made, how to purchase, store, and smoke them, and regional preferences and habits. However, the book doesn't read like a standard history and interest book but more like a conversation. One should read this book as if the author was talking to you in a smokeasy while you were each relaxing with your own cigar, thus hearing his point of view and experience in the hobby. The short review: A really good reference and history book that a serious cigar hobbyist should have in their library, just ignore the author's occasional hubris. My complaints: The author toots his own horn multiple times, for example "..so if you see it elsewhere, you'll know where it came from -- this book". For me, coming from the software engineering world, this sounds like something a marketing person would do and -- what do you know -- that's the world he came from. It's a turn-off for me. If I'm dying to know where it came from I'll look at the references or footnotes. Pictures are not great and several would be better (have more impact) if they were larger in size. Same for some of the illustrations, particularly the primary growing regions. The one picture that makes no sense in terms of visual information is the one of the five cigars showing the shading of five wrapper colors, from maduro to claro, and it's in black & white! I think having a professional photography editor would be very helpful in the overall aesthetic and visual information characteristics of the book. His self-branded HPH scale seems superfluous given many popular cigar outlets already give a scale of light/mild, medium, or full and thus smokers would adjust their tastes accordingly. While I like examples, some of the metaphors used aren't common enough for the larger "common [middle class] person" demographic and could turn off some readers. For example, in the way he describes the word "different" as "...the way Beef Wellington is different from Chateaubriand." I think far more people would get the meaning if "Mercedes" and "BMW" were used instead. Chapter 7 was boring and seemed more like an excuse to name names than pair the highly subjective tastes of spirits to cigar builds (binder, filler, wrapper combinations). Rums go great with cigars but that was given little press and barely a sip was given to coffee; not a spirit, agreed, but quite popular with cigars nonetheless! It might as well have been a chapter on pairing cigars with exotic cars, flowers, or sneakers. Chapter 8 is interesting but not particularly helpful. The history aspect of some of the brands is good but references to specific cigars I found immaterial. Given the wealth of information spattered throughout this book an index would be a very smart move for the next edition, especially for Chapter 8! Overall: A good source of information that I recommend getting for the cigar enthusiast. Being American I liked knowing about how other countries consume cigars; how the brands spread from Cuba, where they are popular, etc. There's so much information that I learned (e.g. "dry" cigars!) so I really do appreciate and understand the dedication and knowledge collection the author has but let's see just a little less of that self-marketing braggadocio in his next edition.

LOVED this book, from start to end, I couldn't put it down. It starts with the history of cigars and it just gets better and better with each chapter. If you're a cigar smoker, you need to get this book. Highly recommend for all cigar smokers.

This book is fantastic. I’ve had four or five good belly laughs. It’s the most informative book on cigars that exists, In my opinion. If you want to learn about cigars and all the accessories this book is a must. It’s a delight to read!

This book is a perfect gift for any cigar enthusiast! It was even mentioned in Cigar Aficionado magazine ! Great buy!

I don't read a lot, but when I do, if it can't keep me interested I'll put it down. I'm happy to say this book is keeping my interest. Great read for cigar lovers and nice to have in the lounge as table decor.