Cigars and Other Passions: The Biography of Edgar M. Cullman

NOT YOUR EVERYDAY CIGAR MOGUL For more than 60 years, Edgar Cullman was king of the cigar business. Whether it was top-of-the-line cigars like Macanudo and Punch or mass market products like White Owls, Tiparillos and Tijuana Smalls, Edgar influenced what people were puffing, the cigar jingles they were humming, where the cigars came from and how they were made. But Edgar also was - and at the age of 92 still is - more than just a cigar man. He built his career on a smorgasbord of businesses, among them plastics, packaging, potato chips, real estate and the world's bestknown laxative - all the while dealing, bantering and playing with an array of unforgettable characters. You'll learn about his father's whacky hobbies, the uncle who produced nearly all of a generation's best Broadway shows, a "terrifying" prep school headmaster, a Nazi secret agent, a daring pilot who escaped Nazi-occupied Holland and became Edgar's friend, and wise-cracking investment bankers and fellow philanthropists who express their camaraderie by taking one another down a notch. There's also a great love story here - Edgar's courtship and romance with Louise Bloomingdale that began in the 1930s and still goes strong today. CIGARS AND OTHER PASSIONS is about cementing relationships, building wealth, giving back to society and nurturing a marriage and family for more than 70 years, all the while having marvelous fun. "Cigars are my passion and Yale football is a close second!" - Edgar Cullman

Peter Hochstein, a business journalist and advertising copywriter, has worked for daily and weekly newspapers and major advertising agencies. His previous books include The Fatal Fetish, Up from Seltzer: A Handy Guide to Four Jewish Generations, and Skills for Success. He lives in New York.