<< 1 >>
Rating: Summary: Denial and Survival Review: "Ashes to Ashes" examines the volatile history of the big tobacco companies during the twentieth century. This book is somewhat lengthy, but it is full of information and historical trivia. The tobacco giants have endured more challanges than any other business in history. Bad press, lawsuits, slander, moral questions, etc., have all threatened to bring an end to this icon of American business, but the tobacco companies have managed to survive. Through the use of clever advertising, deceptive health claims, manipulation of facts, and gifts to political allies, the U.S. tobacco industry has managed to dodge all of the stones hurled in its direction. Should the tobacco industry be held liable for the millions of deaths resulting from consumption of its products? Is the consumer solely responsible for the effects of what he/she ingests or inhales? Should both sides share the responsibility? In the early part of the 1900's, there were many question marks regarding tobacco and little information available to the public. But in the last forty years or so there have been many indisputable health studies linking tobacco use to several diseases. So, I do not see how any reasonable person nowadays can blame the cigarette manufacturers if the consumer succombs to ill health. Anyone who decides to smoke knows the possible consequences and therefore has no one to blame but himself if he falls victim to smoking related disease. Author Richard Kluger seems to have the opposite opinion: that the tobacco industry should be held liable. Kluger displays an obvious bias against the tobacco industry throughout the book, although he does manage to avoid excessive name- calling. What the future holds for tobacco is uncertain. Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds have both diversified their businessess through massive acquisitions of food companies which will no doubt help to soften the financial blow if government continues to intervene and regulate, but it may not be enough. The book ends with a presentation of alternatives that the tobacco industry may be forced to adopt if it hopes to survive. One thing is certain: the controversy is far from over.
Rating: Summary: Interesting, but too long, too long, too long ... Review: Author Kluger did a fine job of exhaustively reviewing the tobacco saga, but only through the early-90's. Unfortunately, he stopped just before things got interesting. The book entirely misses the recent revolution against the tobacco lords. Besides, the book is way too long, and basically too complex to read. It's more like an encyclopedia.
Rating: Summary: A History Lesson in Tobacco Review: I highly recommend Ashes to Ashes, by Richard Kluger, to anyone who wants to know more about the tobacco industry. Kluger provides a comprehensive history, beginning with the temperance of the tobacco leaf and the physical labor involved in producing marketable tobacco, and ending with the struggles the tobacco industry now faces with public health groups and government regulations. Kluger's narrative style makes this thick, fact packed book easy to read. Rich in history, critical, and thought provoking, Ashes to Ashes is a worthwhile read.
Rating: Summary: Oddly gripping... Review: I purchased this book to do some research for a project I was working on. It was my intention to skim through the first three-quarters and then to pull what I needed from the last quarter. I ended up reading every word. You would think that a book this large (it's even larger than you think-the print and margins are really small) wouldn't be able to hold your interest, but the author does a wonderful job of relating people and events, while keeping the narrative moving ever forward. The reader comes away with the thought that the history of tobacco is so intertwined with the history of America that it is often difficult to tell them apart. From Jamestown, to the world wars, to the recent lawsuits that have plagued the industry, we see the triumphs and failures of capitalism and freedom, and begin to understand how they can be so wonderful and dangerous at the same time.
Rating: Summary: Long, but good Review: I'm not a smoker (fortunately my parents totally discouraged me from it, and I had enough smarts to avoid it anyway) but I found this history of the cigarette industry to be quite interesting--especially the facts about the early years. It got a little dry towards the end, and the whole indictment of the industry has gotten a bit repetitious; I suspect at the time the book was published the message was new, but the message has gotten old fast. (Yes, it's clear that they knew about the health issues, and yes, they did very little about it.) Overall it's a good read, especially the first half. If you're at all curious about how the cigarette industry came to be, the book does a great job of describing the companies and personalities involved.
Rating: Summary: Oddly gripping... Review: Kluger does an awesome job of research in "Ashes to Ashes." He begins with the tobacco plant itself, the difficulty of cultivating it, to the many characters in Big Tobacco's long history, to their manipulative adevertising, anf finally their attempts to take over Asia with their fatal product. Certainly, the tobacco industry thrived on deception and their consistent spread of half-truths, as well as their support from Congress. However, Kluger writes as if he hoped to attain every thought, and every word of tobacco executives. (They barely want to provide information to Congress. Why should they provide it to Kluger?) Thus, the primary weakness of the book is that it is simply too long. The paper back edition is over 760 pages, but in a very small font. Surely the average reader didn't finish this one. Kluger also makes some very unnecessary and insulting references to the Pro-Life movement. On page 493, he states Congressional liberals were fearful of C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General and Pro-Lifer, as a "reactonary fanatic" for his pro-life views. On page 568 he refers to the pro-life movement in quotes ("pro-life") as if to belittle the term. On page 611, he refers to a Tobacco executive as believing that "smoking , like abortion, was best left to the individual." By this time, anyone reader would know that this is also Kluger's position. Now, Mr. Kluger, if it was THAT simple, would there ever be a controversy on abortion? In the end, such jabs at the Pro-Life movement (or Pro-Choice) are totally out of the realm of a book which deals with the ravages of smoking and the executives' efforts at pawning a deadly product.
Rating: Summary: Y'all said it: good but loooooong Review: Kluger's research is impressively thorough, his writing is lucid, and his insights -- well, insightful. But his inability to leave any detail unexamined makes this more of a resource book than a narrative. Slogging through to the end, became a chore. I mean, there ARE a few other books I'd like to get to before I die . . .
Rating: Summary: Exhaustive and thorough history Review: This is not a book for a quick casual read. Kluger offers a comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and exhaustive history of the cigarette industry in this country. I was fascinated to learn of the backgrounds of the major players, and the data leaves no question that they deliberately set out to addict customers with full knowledge of the consequences. You'll never look at a cigarette ad or display the same way again.
<< 1 >>
|