Category Archives: history

A Brief History of Motion

Posted on July 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tom, Tom, Tom. You know drinking and driving is a bad idea, but what did you do? You followed A History of the World through Six Glasses with this A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Automobile. … Continue reading →

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Of blood and brilliant butlers

Posted on June 22, 2023 by smellincoffee

Rose George has previously shared with readers her voyages across the world following cargo ships and movements to make sanitation both more eco-friendly and readily available to poorer communities. In Nine Pints, she dips into the circulatory system. The result … Continue reading →

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Billy Yank @ Johnny Reb Stadium: PLAY BALL!

Posted on June 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

That title is just a way of me combining two Civil War short rounds into one post. (Billy Yank wins the five-game series, 3 to 2, but in a show of terrible sportmanship, burned the stadium on their departure.) First … Continue reading →

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The Debutante

Posted on June 15, 2023 by smellincoffee

The Debutante: From High Society to White Supremacy© 2023 Jon RonsonAudible original, 3 hrs The Debutante is Jon Ronson’s investigation into the rumors and contradictions surrounding Carol Howe, a young woman who became interested in white nationalism and associated with … Continue reading →

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Angels, barbarians, Trump, and boring Klansmen

Posted on June 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

Short rounds time! Angels, Barbarians, and Nincompoops is a wonderful romp through a few score words in the English language. Esolen has always impressed me as a man deep in word & song, saturated by the beauty of language — … Continue reading →

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Faces Along the Bar

Posted on June 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Faces along the Bar: Lore and Order in the Workingman’s Saloon, 1870-1920© 1998 Madelon Powers331 pages Men’s thinking on this issue seems to have involved an interesting mixture of solicitude and defiance. On the one hand, decent women should be … Continue reading →

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America’s untouchables and baseball

Posted on June 2, 2023 by smellincoffee

Shortly after the financial implosion of the late 2000s and the beginning of the ‘great recession’, physicist & banker Chris Arnade began long walks around New York City to contemplate the ramifications of his and his ‘industry’s’ reckless speculation and … Continue reading →

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Log Cabin Pioneers

Posted on May 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs, and Sayings© 2001 Wayne Erbson184 pages Few things are more evocative of the American frontier than a log cabin. This isn’t a new thing, either: log cabins entered American iconography as early as the 1840s, … Continue reading →

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Tales from the Deadball Era

Posted on May 17, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tales from the Deadball Era: Ty Cobb, Home Run Baker, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and the Wildest Times in Baseball History© 2014 Mark S. Halfon, narrated by Michael Butler Murray 240 pages | Audible 8 hrs 4 minutes George Carlin once … Continue reading →

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Breaking Bad & Bama Baseball

Posted on May 11, 2023 by smellincoffee

If you’re an obsessive fan of Breaking Bad — and is any fan of Breaking Bad not an obsessive one? — this little book is a quick treat, consisting of summaries with commentary of each respective season, along with character … Continue reading →

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