Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Lyndon at Last

Posted on October 28, 2026 by smellincoffee

Over the last year when I have considered what books I would take on to understand LBJ, Robert J. Caro’s four-volume set (with a fifth in the works) was always recommended. No, said I, never. I disliked LBJ, thought him … Continue reading →

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Poppy

Posted on October 26, 2026 by smellincoffee

While I have had George H.W. Bush listed on my Hail to the Chief  page for a while, in truth neither of the two entries would satisfy a purist like myself. One was a collection of letters, which was a … Continue reading →

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James “Veni, vici, secessi” Polk

Posted on October 26, 2026 by smellincoffee

Note to readers: there will be two or three president reviews this week, but I solemnly promise I am reading other things. I actually began revisiting another YA title from my youth this weekend, while at the same time starting … Continue reading →

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FDR

Posted on October 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

When I began working on this project in earnest a year ago, I knew then that FDR was going to be…interesting. I’ve mentioned before that I was a World War 2 nut in high school: this translated, via the impressionability … Continue reading →

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The BBC’s Fellowship of the Ring

Posted on October 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

I have been meaning to revisit the realms of the Shire and Rivendell and Gondor for some years now,, but recently an older friend of mine announced his intention to begin his annual walk with Frodo on October 1st. “I’m … Continue reading →

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William McKinley

Posted on October 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

After three days of trying to make progress in Robert Merry’s William McKinley, trying in vain to see the subject through a multiple of well-tailored fat man smoking cigars and blocking my way to their chosen man to guide America … Continue reading →

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Rumble Fish: Keep Cooly-Cool, Boy

Posted on October 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

Many years ago, when the Earth was young and dinosaurs roamed the land, I encountered a book called That Was Then, This is Now at a Waldenbooks in Montgomery, Alabama. It proved to be my introduction to S.E. Hinton, and … Continue reading →

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Short rounds…LBJ and FDR

Posted on October 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

While I’ve been excellent this year at keeping my number of un-reviewed books to practically zero (one exception being Bruce Thornton’s Greek Ways), in the last couple of weeks several have piled up.  Thus, I wave my magic wand: the … Continue reading →

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Reagan: The Life

Posted on October 15, 2026 by smellincoffee

Unlike many of the presidents on this list,  I approach Reagan: The Life with a fair bit of familiarity.   Reagan was just a name to me until he died in 2004: my parents and I were taking our last … Continue reading →

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Human Errors

Posted on October 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

To err is human,  they say, but  at some point we can’t help it: we were born flawed,  a conviction shared by both biology and the good book. Nathan Lents’ Human Errors looks at the frailties of the human body … Continue reading →

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