Book excerpt: Complete Reprint of Harry Johnson's Bartenders' Manual, originally published 1882. "Harry Johnson was a professional bartender for most of his life and along with Jerry Thomas he was one of the first to write about his trade. Harry's rather opinionated thoughts on the bartending profession and how to run a bar, which takes up the first third of the book, make for a fascinating insight in to the world of nineteenth century bars. He wasn't afraid of boasting, describing one of his bars as "what was generally recognized to be the largest and finest establishment of the kind in this country", but the advice is clearly spoken from the heart about a profession he really believes in."