This book is not an instructional manual nor a history of tobacco, but rather an anthology of the best poetry and prose from the last four centuries on the subtle pleasures of the pipe. Excerpts from works by William Cowper, J.M. Barrie, James Boswell and Thomas Carlyle, as well as many anonymous writers have been collected to provide the collective wit and wisdom of the 'Brotherhood of the Briar' in one volume. It will make an ideal fireside companion for any thoughtful and reflective pipe smoker. 'Let others fret and fume with care, 'Tis easy finding everywhere, But happiness is rarer; And if I find it sweet and ripe, In this tobacco and my pipe, I'll count it all the fairer...'