Category Archives: history

In God’s Path

Posted on May 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

In God’s Path: the Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire© 2015 Robert Hoyland303 pages A Roman author referred to the Roman and Persian empires as the two eyes of the world — but they didn’t see the … Continue reading →

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On the Grid

Posted on May 14, 2016 by smellincoffee

On the Grid: A Plot of Land, an Average Neighborhood, and the Systems That Make Our World Work© 2010 Scott Huler256 pages If modern humans have retained a penchant for magical thinking, little wonder. Our homes accomplish marvels seemingly by the … Continue reading →

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Iran and the United States

Posted on May 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

Iran and the United States: An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace© 2014 Seyed Hossein Mousavian368 pages The United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran have not been on speaking terms since the hostage … Continue reading →

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American History: the Index

Posted on May 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

Across the Bering:  Native America Twilight of the Mammoths,  Paul Martin The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America, James Wilson Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade: Peopling the Americas, Brian Fagan 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before … Continue reading →

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After the Prophet

Posted on May 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

After the Prophet: the Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split © 2009 Lesley Hazleton256 pages When Muhammad lay in his deathbed, legend has it that he cried to God for pity on those who would follow him. With no sons and … Continue reading →

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Waterloo

Posted on April 20, 2016 by smellincoffee

Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles© 2015 Bernard Cornwell352 pages Bang upon the big drum, crash upon the cymbals We’ll sing as we go marching along boys, along And although on this campaign There’s no whiskey … Continue reading →

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Dawn of Battle

Posted on April 19, 2016 by smellincoffee

Four hundred years before, near a village called Azincourt, an English army had waited to do battle with the French, and on that October night it had rained and rained and the sky had echoed with thunder. It had been … Continue reading →

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The English Resistance

Posted on April 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

The English Resistance: the Underground War Against the Romans© 2006 Peter Rex I was scandalized to learn, in seventh grade, that once ages ago, England was conquered. Already I had acquired the mythic conception of England as an indomitable island … Continue reading →

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The First Congress

Posted on March 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government© 2016 Fergus Bordewich416 pages The first attempt at creating an American confederation resulted in a chronically bankrupt and impotent organization which no one … Continue reading →

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The Scotch-Irish

Posted on March 26, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Scotch-Irish: A Social History© 1989 James Leyburn397 pages         Though they have long ceased to be a distinct ethnic group outside of Appalachia, for years the greatest non-English minority in the United States were the Scotch-Irish. … Continue reading →

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