Category Archives: history

Amsterdam

Posted on January 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City© 2013 Russell Shorto369 pages In the early 14th century, a group of fisher-folk around the Amstel river came together with a dream: to build a place where people could smoke weed … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Empires of Light

Posted on December 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World © 2004 Jill Jonnes464 pages Empires of Light is less a history of how the United States became electrified and more a biography of three electrical titans – … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

China, Japan, and New Mexico

Posted on November 24, 2017 by smellincoffee

In the last couple of weeks I’ve finished some books  that haven’t gotten full reviews. Here are some quick shots! First up: New Mexico, A History. This is…exactly what it says it is, a history of New Mexico. Published to … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

These Rugged Days

Posted on November 22, 2017 by smellincoffee

These Rugged Days: Alabama in the Civil War© 2017 John Sledge296 pages Although Alabama was not the site of as many bloody battles as Virginia and Tennessee in the Civil War, it was not a quiet backwater only troubled at … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Hemingway Patrols

Posted on November 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Hemingway Patrols: Ernest Hemingway and his Hunt for U-boats © 2009 Terry Mort 272 pages For some people, getting involved in the war effort meant collecting cans. For Ernest Hemingway, it meant patrolling the waters between the Florida Keys … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Conquest of the Skies

Posted on November 7, 2017 by smellincoffee

Conquest of the Skies: A History of Commercial Aviation in America© 1979 Carl Solberg441 pages If ever you wanted a history of commercial aviation in the United States, Conquest of the Skies is it. Beginning with the origins of flight … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Korea Reborn

Posted on October 15, 2017 by smellincoffee

Korea Reborn: A Grateful Nation Honors Veterans for 60 Years of Growth© 2015 Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Patriots161 pages Like most Americans, I have very little knowledge of the Korean War, outside of knowing Douglas MacArthur’s role there.  When … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

German Resistance to Hitler

Posted on October 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

German Resistance to Hitler© 1988 Peter Hoffman188 pages Peter Hoffman’s research into the German resistance culminated in a 900-page History of the German Resistance 1933-1945, but this work – simply titled German Resistance to Hitler —  is a much smaller … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Ein Feste Burg

Posted on October 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

A Mighty Fortress:  A New History of the German People© 2004 Steven Ozment314 pages Like many Americans, I first knew the Germans only as the villains of our world wars. It wasn’t until college, when over-full Spanish classes thrust me … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Wild Swans

Posted on September 28, 2017 by smellincoffee

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China© 1991 Chang Jung525 pages (My edition uses Chang’s family name first, following the Chinese custom.) Read the records of the 20th century totalitarian states, and the number of lives destroyed numbs the brain. Eleven … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments