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Author Archives: smellincoffee
The Humans Who Went Extinct
The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived© 2010 Clive Finlayson256 pages Whatever happened to the Neanderthals? Did Homo sapiens drive our beefy cousins into extinction in the first of many exercises in genocide as we … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science
Tagged anthropology, biology, climate change, evolution, natural history, science
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This Week at the Library (20 December)
Well, the week is winding down, and with it, the year. I’ve recently finished both The Great Railroad Revolution and The Humans Who Went Extinct, so comments for those are in progress. And what will I be reading this week, this last … Continue reading
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All Fall Down
Supervolcano: All Fall Down © 2012 Harry Turtledove 416 pages YellowstoneNational Park is gone, replaced by a vast caldera that still ripples the air with its heat. The momentous eruption covered North America’s great-growing heartland in ash, ruining … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science fiction
Tagged disaster, Harry Turtledove, science fiction
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1493
1493: Uncovering the New World that Columbus Created© 2011 Charles C. Mann690 pages Although Christopher Columbus’s reputation as an intrepid explorer doesn’t withstand historical scrutiny, Charles C. Mann believes Columbus has a legacy still worth honoring. No, he didn’t prove … Continue reading
Cattle
Cattle: an Informal Social History© 2001 Laurie Winn Carlson321 pages Consider…the cow. A humble creature, its dopey expression reveals no vast intelligence, and its barrel of a body gives it virtually no athletic ability, but it is remarkable if nothing … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged animal domestication, disease, farming, food, food and drink, goods/services, social history
2 Comments
Teaser Tuesday + This Week at the Library (11 December)
“The Sun King used to entertain his guests by giving them rides on the Roulette, a kind of roller coaster built in the garden of his chateau at Marly, near Verailles, in 1691. It was a carved and gilded carriage … Continue reading
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The Eternal Tide
Star Trek Voyager: the Eternal Tide© 2012 Kirsten Beyer388 pages Only Kathryn Janeway can save reality, imperiled by the physical manifestation of Chaos itself. At least, that’s what “Junior”, the scion of the mostly-omnipotent and … Continue reading
Teaser Tuesday (4 December)
They sat and continued to stare at each other, in a precious stolen moment of pure happiness. Finally, Kathryn said, “You do realize the universe is tearing itself to shreds around us?” p. 251, Star Trek Voyager: the Eternal Tide. Kirsten Beyer. … Continue reading
This Week at the Library (30 November)
This past week I read A South Divided, by David Downing, which covers the same ground in part as David Williams’ Bitterly Divided, in that it examines the importance of southerners who worked against the confederacy. But whereas Williams argued … Continue reading
Hominids
Hominids© 2003 Robert Sawyer448 pages “You manage to comfortably feed six billion people with plants?”“Well, ah, no,” said Mary. “About half a billion people don’t have enough to eat.”“That is very bad,” said Ponter, simply. Why did humans kill off … Continue reading
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