Category Archives: history

Mapping Human History

Posted on November 30, 2010 by smellincoffee

Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past through Our Genes© 2002 Steve Olson292 pages Mapping Human History caught my attention a couple of weeks ago given my interests in evolution and anthropology. Author Steve Olson offers a quick history of human … Continue reading →

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Britain: At the Edge of the World?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by smellincoffee

A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World? 3500 B.C. – 1603 A.D.© 2000 Simon Schama414 pages Image from audio-book version, as I could not find a suitable image for the standard cover. I get the feeling that … Continue reading →

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The Mother Tongue

Posted on November 5, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way© 1990 Bill Bryson270 pages “More than 350 million people around the world speak English and the rest, it sometimes seem, try to.” While I’m reading this as part of a … Continue reading →

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What Went Wrong?

Posted on November 4, 2010 by smellincoffee

What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle-Eastern Response© 2003 Bernard Lewis180 pages (adopted from lectures) In essence, this collection of modified lectures is a brief history of modernization in the Islamic world and its aftermath. The fist three chapters focus … Continue reading →

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America’s Hidden History

Posted on October 31, 2010 by smellincoffee

America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation© 2008 Kenneth C. Davis272 pages “The stories that unfold in these six chapters, which span a period from the Spanish arrival in … Continue reading →

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The Imperial Cruise

Posted on October 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War© 2009 James Bradley387 pages They may be sovereign countries, but you folks at home forget That they all want what we’ve got, but they don’t know it yet. (Billy Bragg, … Continue reading →

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Caesar and Christ

Posted on October 12, 2010 by smellincoffee

Caesar and Christ© 1944 Will Durant752 pages Ave, Caesar! Athens’ grip on my imagination is rivaled only by Rome — Rome, navel of the world; Rome, which established the languages laws, and religion of western Europe. Like Our Oriental Heritage … Continue reading →

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The Life of Greece

Posted on October 6, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Life of Greece© 1939 Will Durant754 pages Ancient Greece is the cradle of western civilization, and from my elementary school days on, this world occupied by serene columns and men in togas has fascinated me. That interest grew with … Continue reading →

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Our Oriental Heritage

Posted on September 3, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage © 1935 Will Durant 1048 pages “Civilization is social order promoting cultural creation.”  (Opening sentence.) Our Oriental Heritage is the introductory volume of a greater work, an eleven-book set covering prehistory to the last days of Napoleon. Judging … Continue reading →

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The Spanish-American War

Posted on September 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Spanish-American War© 1991 Albert Marrin182 pages While still a sophomore in high school, I spotted a book titled The Airman’s War in my school library and checked it out. It become a favorite, one of the first history books I … Continue reading →

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