Thanks to Steve Fallon for providing us with the following review of Rick Newcombe's In Search of Pipe Dreams. I too have read the book and recommend it highly to everyone interested in all aspects of pipe and pipe collecting. The book's 24 chapters consist primarily of the essays Rick has written and published in various places over the years, including this newsletter, with a couple of new chapters written specifically for this book. Some are controversial, but all are highly informative.

What I would like to emphasize for potential readers, in addition to all the information Rick provides, is how eminently readable these essays here. Not a whiff of academic or political jargon and doublespeak here. In fact, the Rick Newcombe who speaks in this book comes across exactly like the Rick Newcombe I have met in person.calm, polite, reasoned, always willing to listen to the other person's views, totally non-dogmatic, and never taking himself or his hobby too seriously. In his "Epilogue" to the book, Albert Mendez writes of Rick that "I've always enjoyed his essays, written in that easy, distinctively American style,so full of common sense and good humour, which has, over the past three decades, very nearly vanished." That really sums it up for me. If a book isn't fun to read, it's a chore to read, no matter how much information it conveys. No worry here with In Search of Pipe Dreams. You'll learn a lot and have fun doing so.--Bill Unger

As most of you know, there are few new pipe books being released. The ones already in existence are few and far between and were penned many years ago. Noted pipe collector and author Rick Newcombe has just released his new book, In Search of Pipe Dreams, and, simply stated, it is terrific. I recently received an advance copy and could not easily put it down. It was so good, in fact, that I forced myself to "sip" the pages rather than visually "gulp" them down. The book is 267 pages, with color and black and white photographs that are spectacular. It is a high-quality paperback, and the color photos on the front and back cover are simply stunning. The cover alone will make this publication a hot item! And, unlike Hacker's fine publication of the 1980s, The Ultimate Pipe Book, Newcombe's literary work is contemporary and geared more toward the established pipe hobbyist. In addition to very interesting photographs throughout the 267 pages, you will read about the pipe makers and pipe collectors who currently make headlines in the pipe smoking and collecting hobby. Newcombe goes into great detail about not only pipe collecting but the various aspects of the hobby that we discuss frequently here in The Pipe Collector, including the size of air holes, to pre-carb or not, vulcanite vs. acrylic, estate vs. new pipes, etc. In all, In Search of Pipe Dreams contains twenty-four delicious chapters as well as a rather long introduction and epilogue by noted collector Albert Mendez. I have personally read this book twice in three weeks time and have learned something new with each read. Congratulations, Mr. Newcombe. You have written what I consider to be a superb tribute to our hobby!--Steve Fallon