I find Fred's book to be the finest book ever written on the art of pipesmoking --- it's stimulating, thought provoking and highly informative.
Some of the chapters in the book were first printed in the Pipe Collector, newsletter of the NASPC, and you can hobble together all those essays by buying a few back issues, which are easily available:
http://www.naspc.org/forsale.htm
Here are a few of the relevant essays and the issue they appeared:
My philosophy of pipe collecting ---- vol 17 #9 2009
More with Moretti ---- vol 11 #3 2003
Charatan pipes, some notes on collecting --- vol 10 #1 2002
And, some of them have been archived online for us all to enjoy...
a short interview about the book
http://pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com/...perfect-smoke/
The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipesmoking
http://www.greatnorthernpipeclub.org/Myth.htm
*at a later time, he added this:
Howdy Gents. Thanks for your interest.
As the author of that article I would like to add 2 points in
retrospect.
1. If I had to write it again, one of the things that I would change is
the mention of elitism. That part of the article was widely
misunderstood and I should not have ever addressed it in that article.
Rather than go into great detail, allow me to say that I have indeed
met elitists in the pipe world but very few. Most of these folks are
focused on the quality and maker of a pipe, and not so much the quality
of the smoke that issues from it. Sorry to disagree with you Art, but I
HAVE INDEED known collectors who pass on a pipe because the brand is
not expensive enough, or because the grade is not high enough. To me, a
pipe that retails for thousands and doesn't smoke well is essentially
trash, regardless of who made it--IMHO of course--and I have seen a
fair number of such pipes.
2. Some have misinterpreted my article to mean that all brands are
equal or that all pipes smoke alike. This is not at all what I was
getting at. A well made and well cured high grade pipe is more likely
to smoke better than a low grade pipe that has insufficiently cured
briar and poor engineering--but there are no guarantees of course.
Seems there are always exceptions when it comes to briar and smoke.
Fred
THE MYSTERIES OF THE BREAK-IN PROCESS
http://www.naspc.org/Archives/breakin.htm
Marvelous Marcovitch
http://pipesandtobaccosmagazine.com/...us-marcovitch/
THE AMAZING TINSKY "CLOUDBURST" PIPE
http://www.naspc.org/Archives/cloudburst.html
Tasting Pipe Tobaccos: Should we Become more Disciplined about this?
http://pipedia.org/wiki/Tasting_Pipe..._about_this%3F
THE BEST SANDBLASTED PIPES ARE BEING MADE BY AMERICANS
http://www.naspc.org/Archives/blast.html
I also like this discussion he started,
from the old ASP:
Pipe Smoking Experience is Not a Deciding Factor
Hello All,
Thought I might share an observation having just posted in another
thread asking for a survey of our age and pipe smoking experience.
I worked part time in a pipe shop in Ohio for about 8 years in addition
to experience with collecting and trading with other collectors and
sharing thoughts and viewpoints on subtle aspects of pipes and
tobaccos. I have seen that, as I am sure you would agree, pipe smokers
come in all shapes and sizes, and with all kinds of mindsets and
attitudes. I have smoked a pipe on and off for 40 years but I don't
think that means all that much. Sure it counts for something but it is
a factor that is overrated.
I have observed that the years of experience smoking a pipe are not
nearly as important as the years spent actually studying, observing,
and LEARNING from the pipe and its many and varied tobaccos, and the
pipe smoking process. I have read research in other fields that
supports my claim about the unreliability of experience. An example is
a school teacher with 30 years of experience who still should not be
allowed to be around children.
Years of experience doesn't really mean that much. I have met pipe
smokers with 50+ years of experience who don't really know much about
the pipe at all, and some of them grossly mistreat and misunderstand
their pipes. Curiously, some of them will tell you rather gruffly they
don't really care either.
You can take a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. Well, you
can take a pipe smoker to experience his or her pipe, but that doesn't
mean that he will learn much beyond what his interest level dictates
and demands.
Thoughts? Disagreements?
Fred
Dr. Fred Hanna used to also be a member of Smokers Forums, but they ended up banning him, dumbasses. :crazy:
Hope this has helped to ease your pain about not being able to find a copy, I was lucky to get one when it was first published and I've read it so much that it looks like a battered book found at a thrift store!
It's the sort of book you can keep going back to and finding new avenues to follow...