Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

James “Death by Lightning” Garfield

Posted on August 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

Back in March, I announced that I was beginning a trio of unknowns — Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur. Then the 1960s took over, but I’m back at it. Who is James Garfield? A teacher, an officer, a forceful Republican — … Continue reading →

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Stalking the Atomic City

Posted on August 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

“This is Chernobyl, too”, someone posted on reddit, captioning a large radar-like installation. “Huh,” says I. A radar station? In the Zone? I’d never heard of such a thing. When I looked at its satellite footage, I noticed something nearby … Continue reading →

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Dark Mirror

Posted on August 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

The memory of thirty years ago is hazy, but I can look back through it and see one moment of clarity: my best friend Gil and I walking around during lunch period (we always skipped lunch in favor of roaming … Continue reading →

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I Am Spock

Posted on August 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

I cannot tell you how many times I read through this book in high school, but it’s the foundation of everything I know about Star Trek’s original production, from the practical effects to the behind the scenes drama.  I Am … Continue reading →

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ST Stargazer: Gauntlet

Posted on August 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

Captain Jean-Luc Picard just showed up at a sector captains’ meeting with a serious case of imposter syndrome. He’s all of 28, and the only reason he’s a captain is that everyone higher else up on the command chain got … Continue reading →

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ST TNG: The Forgotten War

Posted on August 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

Centuries ago, in the days of legends like Captain Pike and Captain Murat, the Federation fought an undeclared war against an aggressive reptilian warrior-race called the Tarn. The war ended in an armistice that established a small no-fly zone between … Continue reading →

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ST DS9: Vengeance

Posted on August 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

Recommended mood music: “Klingon Imperial Theme“, Jerry Goldsmith When I did a full DVD watch-through of DS9 back in the mid-late 2000s, I was confused. Where was  the episode where the Klingons took over the station, and Bashir and O’Brien … Continue reading →

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Mailman: Neither Sleet nor Snow nor Bootlegging Mountain Folk…

Posted on August 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

March 2020 was a bad time for most people, but for Steve Grant it was worse. He’d just been laid off from his lucrative marketing job. A man who once lectured at the nearby university and dominated corporate boardrooms was … Continue reading →

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After Christendom

Posted on August 8, 2026 by smellincoffee

I no longer remember when I first encountered Michael Warren Davis, but his critique of modernity and his countercultural vision of Christianity appealed to me in much the same way that The Plain Reader and Rod Dreher’s Crunchy Conservatives did … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Republic or Empire? The True Flag

Posted on August 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

I’ve been wanting to read this title for years now after having found Stephen Kinzer’s various books on DC’s overseas adventures, while at the same time stumbling upon Mark Twain’s anti-war writings collected in Weapons of Satire. Coming of age … Continue reading →

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