Monthly Archives: June 2017

The Martian Chronicles

Posted on June 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Martian Chronicles © 1950 Ray Bradbury 222 pages As the 1940s began giving way to the 1950s, Ray Bradbury began penning a series of stories about the future human exploration of Mars — stories that he thought of as … Continue reading →

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"Far winds and whispers and soap opera cries"

Posted on June 10, 2017 by smellincoffee

“In writing the short novel Fahrenheit 451 I thought I was describing a world that might evolve in four or five decades. But only a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills one night, a husband and wife passed me, walking … Continue reading →

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CYBERPUNK

Posted on June 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

CYBERPUNK: Hackers and Outlaws on the Computer Frontier© 1991 Katie Hafner400 pages Cyberpunk takes readers back to the early days of hacking, when it was so old-school that computers weren’t involved. Using three case  in the United States and western … Continue reading →

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Neither East nor West

Posted on June 8, 2017 by smellincoffee

Neither East Nor West: One Woman’s Journey Through the Islamic Republic of Iran© 2001 Christiane Bird396 pages Christiane Bird didn’t have an ordinary childhood. Her father was a doctor attached to a Presbyterian mission a world away, in Iran.  They … Continue reading →

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Beautiful Genius

Posted on June 8, 2017 by smellincoffee

After leaving the Castillo, I began exploring the streets of a city which had come alive.  Already, the wide sea-front avenue and the narrow alleys of the ‘old town’ proper were filled with the smell of food, from grilled fish … Continue reading →

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Citadel of the Spainards: Castillo de San Marcos

Posted on June 4, 2017 by smellincoffee

Last weekend I traveled down to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States, to engage with Spanish history, see the Atlantic ocean, and enjoy a town so architecturally rich and dense that it’s almost like visiting Europe. The … Continue reading →

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Zero Day

Posted on June 4, 2017 by smellincoffee

Zero Day © 2011 Mark Russonovich328 pages Two cybersecurity experts, both with government backgrounds, realize their current cases have a connection. The more they dig the more widespread the danger grows, and  to their horror they realize what seems like … Continue reading →

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Kingpin

Posted on June 4, 2017 by smellincoffee

Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground© 2011 Kevin Pulsen288 pages If Meyer Lanksy had gone straight, a contemporary of his noted, he could have rivaled Nelson Rockefeller. Maybe the same could be said for Max Butler, … Continue reading →

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Mars

Posted on June 2, 2017 by smellincoffee

 Mars© 1992 Ben Bova560 pages Mankind has finally arrived on Mars, via a joint venture between the United States, Russia, Europe, and Japan. An expedition slated to last several months on the planet itself plans to explore part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 14 Comments