Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination Of Your Child

Posted on August 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination Of Your Child © 2010 Anthony Esolen 256 pages In the spirit of The Screwtape Letters comes this, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination Of Your Child.  Anthony Esolen opens by observing that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Civics Literacy Test

Posted on August 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

Within the last few weeks I stumbled across a pdf  labelled “1960s Alabama Literacy Test”.  The host is a state university that has put it in a ‘jimcrow’ folder, so I assume it is presented as an example of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The End of Civilization, or the story thereof

Posted on August 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

Seven years ago, I began reading Will Durant’s epic  Story of Civilization series.  I use ‘epic’ deliberately, for each of the eleven volumes in this series neared a thousand pages, and they covered not just politics but every aspect of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Age of Napoleon

Posted on August 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Age of Napoleon© 1975 will Durant870 pages Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me – or didn’t.  Will and Ariel Durant intended for Rousseau and Revolution to be the final volume in their epic … Continue reading →

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New Acquisitions

Posted on August 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

Today I received several books in the mail,  using a gift card I won taking online surveys to effect a guilt-free purchase. First up Down and Out in Paris and London, one of the entries on my Classics Club list. … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 12 Comments

The Gulag Archipelago, Vol I

Posted on August 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

Archipeleg GULag / The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Volume I (of III) © 1973, 1974 Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn 660 pages   Such was my desire to read The Gulag Archipelago that when I found it on the shelf and observed … Continue reading →

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The Gulag Archipelago, Volume I

Posted on August 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

Archipeleg GULag / The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary InvestigationVolume I (of III)© 1973, 1974 Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn660 pages Such was my desire to read The Gulag Archipelago that when I found it on the shelf and observed that it … Continue reading →

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The Tragedy of Liberation

Posted on August 10, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957 © 2013  Frank Dikotter 400 pages Readers who approach Frank Dikotter’s histories of Maoist China (The Tragedy of Liberation, Mao’s Great Famine, and The Cultural Revolution) should brace themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Irish Soldiers of Mexico

Posted on August 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Irish Soldiers of Mexico© 1997 Michael Hogan298 pages And it was there in the pueblos and the hillsidesThat I saw the mistake I had madePart of a conquering army, with the morals of a bayonet brigadeAnd amidst all these … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Posted on August 5, 2017 by smellincoffee

Reproduction of details on the Arch of Titus When we survey human history, we experience also the wonder of the ancient, the immemorial. We look to a tombstone in a Roman cemetery and read the inscription, sponsa optima, the best … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 10 Comments