Monthly Archives: February 2010

The Emperor’s Handbook

Posted on February 17, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Emperor’s Handbook: A New Translation of the Meditations© 2002, translated by David and Scot Hicks.160 pages I first read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations in 2007 and have returned to selected passages from the book time and again. The good emperor … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (16-2)

Posted on February 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Teaser Tuesday time once more, from Should be Reading.  I complained to Houghton Mifflin that a reviewer in  discussing my book The Neutrino (my 70th) spoke of my “factory production”. I said that made it sound as though I had … Continue reading →

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A Guide to the Good Life

Posted on February 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Guide to the Good Life: the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy© 2009 William Irvine314 pages Last year when I began to examine Stoicism in depth, having found strength in the works of Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, I read or … Continue reading →

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A Power Governments Cannot Suppress

Posted on February 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress © 2007 Howard Zinn 293 pages This year I have become convincted that democracy is not something that happens at the ballot-box but on the streets. It consists in mass movements forcing the institutions that … Continue reading →

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The Tyrannosaurus Prescription

Posted on February 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Tyrannosaurus Prescription and 100 Other Essays© 1989 Isaac Asimov323  pages I take for granted that I will enjoy a work by Asimov, particularly a collection of essays, but this made for a particularly enjoyable read. The Tyrannosaurus Prescription covers … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday

Posted on February 9, 2010 by smellincoffee

Via Should be Reading. A reader once wrote: “If violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, why is there so much violence in the world?”And I replied, “Because there is so much incompetence.” – p. 206-207. – Isaac Asimov, … Continue reading →

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Storm of Steel

Posted on February 8, 2010 by smellincoffee

Storm of Steel © 1921 Ernst Jünger 319 pages Storm of Steel is the oddest war memoir I have ever read. I’ve read a few of them in hopes of understanding various motivations for young men marching off to war, … Continue reading →

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A Dirty Job

Posted on February 6, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Dirty Job© 2006 Christopher Moore400 pages When the Devil is too busy, and Death’s a bit too much They call on me, by name you see — For my special touch.  (Voltaire, “When You’re Evil”) Charlie Asher is the … Continue reading →

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Red Emma Speaks

Posted on February 4, 2010 by smellincoffee

Red Emma Speaks: An Emma Goldman Reader© 1973, 1996 ed. Alix Kates Shulman464 pages           Emma Goldman was an incorrigible political activist and social critic during the Gilded Age, speaking out against nearly everything society held dear – the government, capitalism, … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday (2-2))

Posted on February 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbringer of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the defier of all laws, of all conventions; love, the freest, the most powerful moulder of human destiny; how can such an … Continue reading →

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