Day 14 - A non-fictional book

I'm currently reading a non-fictional book right now called The Cigarette Century by Allan Brandt.  It's a behemoth of a book that explores the history of the modern cigarette.  It's fascinating.  I'd like to think that had I ever gone on to get my PhD in History, my research and final product would have resembled this very book.

Brandt reveals the inner workings of the tobacco companies and how they created the cigarette and originally promoted it (to children in the 1890s).  He discusses how tobacco eventually became a massive trust under the American Tobacco Company (just like Standard Oil and Carnegie Steel) and how the ATC was trust busted by Roosevelt.  Brandt explains how through it all, the big heads behind tobacco continued to guide its usage towards cigarettes rather than plugs, cigars, etc.  He shows how gimmicks and advertisements were used to lure children and then women into smoking cigarettes.  I'm only a fraction of the way through this book and already consider it a book I would recommend to others.

I've hated tobacco, cigarettes, and tobacco companies for as long as I can remember.  This solidifies that hatred.