Richard Carleton Hacker

[Purple Grant]

What is everyone's opinion of RCH?

I got "The Ultimate Pipe Book" when I took up the pipe and at the time found it very enjoyable and interesting.

I notice, however thst there's a lot of negative comments about him in some Amazon.Com reviews. Saying that a lot of what he says in nonsense etc.

So what do the people of BoB think? are any of his other books worth having (for any reason other than them being basically the only thing out there.)

 

[Tony Ferrill]

Opinions?!? :lol: Hacker tries.While I can't agree with everything he says,I give the man his due-he tries to put forth information and pleasant passtime for pipers in a way that is very hard to find.Makes me wonder-a lot of these guys really are scholarly/literary types.Why such a dearth on information?
Respectfully,Tony

 

[Dock]

I'm actually a big Rick Hacker fan.I've read all of his books several times over and even sat through "The Ultimate Pipe Video" (he's not an academy award winning actor) I find his books to be entertaining. I, as others, have found some inacuracies with his writing. He may not be the autority that he claims to be but he's surely an engaging figure who's enthusiasim for our hobby deserves a hearty "tip of the cap"....

Best,
D.J.

 

[Ol'Dawg]

In case you missed it, here's a link to an earlier Hacker discussion on the board--
91 replies

Jim

 

[skaukatt]

Dock, I agree with you. I think he is an entertaining writer but can be a bit off on accuracy. I have enjoyed the books I have read and it was the Ultimate Pipe Book that re-feuled my fire back in '84-85 when I read the book. If it weren't for that book I would never had known about Tom Dunn and his Ephemeris and many other fantastic aspects about our hobby.

That being said, in this "day of the anti's", he should have our support, as well as others, who venture to put the pen to paper about our beloved hobby.

I tip my cap to him...


Lou, NY

 

[docwatson]

Love his books, and found them to be incredibly interesting and informative. I believe it was his books that started my fascination with Tobacco literature and seeking out so much of the pipe world that I didn't know existed. To this day I still use them as reference in certain instances and just the photos on the dust jackets make one want to acquire some of the nice old pieces of pipe history. R. C. Hacker also happens to be quite a firearms enthusiast and reviewer which falls into a category I thoroughly enjoy. Who knows, he may have some more fine writing in the future for us to enjoy.
AC
ipe: ipe:

 

[CPT/VSG]

I've read two so far, Rare Smoke and A 21st Century Guide to Pipe Smoking and I've found both of them useful. He is a self-promoter and after a while the self-lauding references get a bit old. That aside, I've enjoyed the books and read his articles where they appear.

I have to admit, I wonder about how he amassed 2000 expensive pipes, can travel all over, etc. on self-published books and tobacco journalism. That's his business, though, and I'm glad he's writing about our hobby.

 

[Aaron]

We have is book, 21st Century, on our coffee table at the shop. I read through it occasionally. Pretty fair information in there I'd say. It's all been covered before you know. Carl Webber had a book similar in the 60s I believe.

 

[Hondo]

:silent:

 

[Lupulus]

Hmmm...this is interesting. A few weeks ago I picked up 21st Century Guide without knowing anything about Hacker or having read anything about him. I just started reading it a couple days ago. I certainly can't comment about inaccuracies, he obviously knows a lot more about pipes than I do.

And that's the problem. He comes off in his writing exactly that way. Let me say again, I had never read anything about Hacker when I started reading his book and had no preconceived notions about him. But by the time I got to page 54, I was thinking to myself, "Yes, I know how great you are and that you know everything, you don't need to tell me on every other page."

My next thought was, "I bet some of the folks on BoB have discussed this." So I came here, did a search and found this thread and the 91 replies one (and what a hell of a thread that is, I just read through the entire thing). I also read through the reviews of his books on Amazon.

I have never met him - as some here have - so I can't comment on how he is different in person than in writing; from the comments it seems that he is a great guy. I am not entirely sure why it is that his writing comes off the way that it does. He is self-promoting, certainly a necessary trait to get your books published when you are writing about a very obscure hobby, as he does. Unfortunately, I think in his case, self-promotion crosses over into...narcissism, maybe? It just feels way over the top in a "Look at me!" kind of way.

Please don't get mad at me, I don't want this to turn into the other thread. This is just my opinion, I'm not attacking him personally, just a critique of his writing style. There must, however, be something to the way that I felt about his writing because the same sentiments have been expressed previously. This isn't to say that I am not enjoying most of his book, though, I will certainly finish reading it and I am learning a lot. I am grateful that he has been a promoter of pipe smoking for so many years and hope he continues to write and get more literature out in the public eye.