Cigar smokers have seen a lot of changes over the past two years. New cigar brands and the introduction of additional lines or sizes by established manufacturers have flooded the market. And new connoisseurs have become a fast-developing audience, eager for any available information on what they are smoking. The Illustrated History of Cigars is better than any rival publication because it exceeds expectations, even for such a costly book. Oversized, like most coffee-table volumes, it contains excellent photography, lithography and brilliant captions. The translation is also top-notch, giving the main text a lively, engaging tone.

The two shortcomings of The Illustrated History of Cigars arise from a generally overzealous love of Cuban cigars and a failure to adequately describe non-Havana stogies and their lineage. The former quirk is in evidence when the authors claim Havana cigars are produced from tobacco that has been aged for four years. This might have been possible when The Illustrated History of Cigars went to press more than five years ago, but today there is little chance that the Cuban government can afford such a luxury. Cabrera Infante riffs on the movie The Natural, in which “the villains smoke cigars, so do the heroes; all the baseball players smoke cigars as big as their bats. All except Robert Redford, that is.” The author reminds us of the scene in Citizen Kane when Joseph Cotton’s aged character nags the reporter to bring him a couple of cigars. There are so many more recollections.Despite all of the legitimate business being done in the name of cigar capitalism, there is still one grossly undersold product in the cigar-accessory market: knowledge. Cigar Aficionado readers call the magazine daily with countless questions about aging, storing, touring, smuggling and smoking. And inevitably they ask: "Isn't there a book about all this?"

The guidance in The Illustrated History of Cigars is excellent, but sometimes more fascinating are the tidbits of history, from the origin of cigarettes to the myth that young Cuban women roll cigars on their thighs. The world is full of books about cigars, most of them guides to the “best,” for the “connoisseur,” and for “idiots” (really). At least one claims to be “complete.” And there’s the problem. No published book, because of the time it takes to research, write, and print can possibly be complete given the speed at which the cigar industry is producing new cigars or old cigars with new blends, or old blends with new wrappers, or old and new blends in new sizes. (I think I’ve confused myself.) Five hundred dollars per year, but with that you get a discount on our best cigars. And you get my personalized attention.’”

Memorable Moments in My Life

Lots of cigars get smoked in this book. And there’s a lot of fighting about who’s got the best cigar, the ultimate Havana. Lantigua even includes scenes reminiscent of iconic events like Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke. Willie is the main character in a mystery series of four books. The Ultimate Havana is number two. The most futile and disastrous day seems well spent when it is reviewed through the blue, fragrant smoke of a Cigar." Evelyn Waugh If Holy Smoke is a challenge to read, The Ultimate Havana is a cool breeze of a book. (Wait a minute! Two books with “ultimate” in their titles?) The novel is set in Miami and the Dominican Republic. It’s essentially a crime thriller involving Cuban tradition, counterfeit cigars, mobsters and a lot of misdirection. This is the book you take to the beach with you and light up the biggest cigar you have. It’s cigar noir at its best. Le Roy and Szafran are not didactic, even when the subject is more tangible than digging for botanical or historical artifacts. In a section that seems pretentiously titled "The Art of Smoking," the authors dispense showy advice: "Where pleasures are concerned, rules are meaningless." While this may be stretching it a bit, this attitude is refreshing, especially to cigar smokers who have enough people telling them what to do with their stogies. The authors seem to feel the same way, distancing themselves from the hordes of self-proclaimed cigar scientists with one very bold statement: