Page 73 - JULY - SEPTEMBER 2024 NEW TITLES_Neat

ADVANCE INFORMATION

Not Your Average

Joe

A Biography of Joseph William

Hobbs (1891–1963), Whisky

Entrepreneur

Tim Smith

KEY SELLING POINTS
The first biography of Joe Hobbs, one of the great characters of the whisky industry.
Written with the support and encouragement of Joe’s surviving family members.
For all those interested in whisky and its history, the development of Scotland and Canada, Prohibition and
rum running, naval and military history, and Britain’s post-war development.

In an industry littered with great characters and extraordinary personalities, Joe Hobbs stands out as one of the
whisky world’s most colourful and interesting entrepreneurs, a man who packed more into each decade of his
life than most people manage in a lifetime. Whilst individual episodes and activities of his life are quite well
known, his fascinating and wide-ranging full life story has not been told before, despite the fact Joe features in
Whisky Magazine’s list of ‘Top 100 Most Influential Whisky Figures’ of all time.
Not Your Average Joe tells the fascinating story of how the son of a bankrupt English farmer rose to be one
of the leading figures in the history of the Scotch whisky industry, making two fortunes and losing one along
the way. The book explains Joe’s pioneering exploits as one of the first military aviators during WW1; his
controversial rum-running activities into the USA during Prohibition in the 1920s; his leading role in designing
and building the city of Vancouver’s first skyscraper; his rise as one of the leading Scotch whisky ‘barons’; and
his pioneering transformation of a derelict 10,000 acre Scottish Highland estate into the UK’s first cattle ranch
during Britain’s ‘battle for beef’ in the lean years after WW2.

Tim Smith is a passionate ‘whisky nut’ who has always had a great interest in the colourful whisky
entrepreneur Joe Hobbs but knew that a proper biography of Joe’s life had yet to be written. In collaboration
with Joe’s family, Tim’s detailed research has enabled him to unearth a wealth of previously unseen material
about his life and achievements. Now retired from a successful career in the shipping industry Tim lives in
Hong Kong.

Publication Date: 28th July 2024 £14.99 ISBN: 9781805144250
Thema subject category: DNBB – Biography: business and industry
paperback 216 x 138 mm 496 pp Portrait Author location: Hong Kong

Sales: Star Book Sales LLP
T: 01404 515050
E: enquiries@starbooksales.com
twitter.com/starbooksales