Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization Lauren M. Swartz this brilliantly structured novel centers

this brilliantly structured novel centers on two women: Gertrude Openshaw

As the traditional powers navigate weakness and disarray

humiliating France and its impetuous leader

will likely shape U

Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization Lauren M. Swartz this brilliantly structured novel centersTobacco was first cultivated and enjoyed by the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who used it for medicinal, religious, and social purposes long before the arrival of Columbus. But when Europeans began to colonize the American continents, it became something else entirely a cultural touchstone of pleasure and success, and a coveted commodity that would transform the world economy forever. Iain Gately's Tobacco tells the epic story of an unusual