Category Archives: history

Of British invasions and medieval haunts

Posted on April 10, 2023 by smellincoffee

As a followup to Hitler’s Armada, I read Frank McLynn’s Invasion from the Armada to Hitler, a history of planned attempts to invade the British isles, and has an interesting mixture of deep background and absurd simplification.  McLynn begins by … Continue reading →

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Hitler’s Armada

Posted on April 2, 2023 by smellincoffee

Hitler’s Armada: The Royal Navy & the Defence of Great Britain© Geoff Hewitt246 pages Summer 1940. Britain stands alone, its ally France having lain down her sword and surrendered to the German blitzkrieg, which has already consumed Norway, the Low … Continue reading →

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Gaming on the ZX Speccy, oceans, and harrumphing at the White House

Posted on March 30, 2023 by smellincoffee

I think I’ve managed to avoid doing any ‘short rounds’ posts this year, but three months in the streak ends. It’s not my fault, I swear. It’s the books. First up is The Nostalgia Nerd’s Retro Tech, a mostly-graphic look … Continue reading →

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Invasion! Sie kommen!

Posted on March 21, 2023 by smellincoffee

Invasion! Sie kommen! | Invasion! They’re Coming!© 1960, 1963 Paul Carell288 pages Invasion! is a German account of the D-Day landings and the battles that followed as the Allies worked to unite their separate beachheads and secure a foothold in … Continue reading →

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Pompey and Caesar

Posted on March 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

And do you now strew flowers in his wayThat comes in triumph over Pompey’s blood? Be gone! The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare The narrative of Julius Caesar and the fall of Rome that we get in elementary school … Continue reading →

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Monroeville and TKAM

Posted on February 27, 2023 by smellincoffee

Monroeville and the Stage Production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” © 2023 John M. Williams160 pages The first time I ever visited Monroeville, I had the dumb luck to arrive on a day when the courthouse-turned-museum was hosting a theatrical … Continue reading →

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Early Alabama

Posted on February 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Early Alabama: An Illustrated Guide to the Formative Years © 2019 Mike Bunn184 pages Published in time for the celebration of Alabama’s bicentennial, Early Alabama invites readers back to when the Heart of Dixie was still a wilderness, save for … Continue reading →

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The Hidden History of Chilton County

Posted on February 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Hidden History of Chilton County© 2022 Billy J. Singleton144 pages Forget Georgia peaches. The best to be had are in Chilton County, Alabama,  which has been so long proud of its peach orchards that the local water tower, visible … Continue reading →

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Revolutionary Characters

Posted on January 24, 2023 by smellincoffee

Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different© 2006 Gordon S. Woods352 pages Revolutionary Characters reviews the lives of several of the United States’ founding fathers to examine how the personal strengths and ambitions of these men allowed them to play … Continue reading →

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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War

Posted on November 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War© 2008 H.W. Crocker III 370 pages This is not a book I’d expected to read,   because as a Southerner who’s been reading different views about the war for twenty years,  I … Continue reading →

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