Category Archives: history

The Day of Battle

Posted on September 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

Although I’ve been reading about World War 2 for most of my life at this point, beginning in middle school, the scope of my reading has never broached the Italian campaign. This is probably due to the huge role D-Day … Continue reading →

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The Storm of the Century

Posted on September 15, 2025 by smellincoffee

In 1900, a powerful hurricane swept Galveston Bay and destroyed a boomtown that in time may have become the New York of the Gulf. In ways, Al Roker’s Storm of the Century is rather similar to Isaac’s Storm, in that … Continue reading →

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SPQR

Posted on September 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

SPQR is an unusual history of Rome, one that largely ignores the imperial period to focus instead on ancient Rome — first, the early city-state, and then the expansive republic it grew into. It also ignores a general narrative, choosing … Continue reading →

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The Great Deluge

Posted on September 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

In September 2005, I remember watching the approach of Hurricane Katrina with a wary eye; just a year before, my own area had been savaged by Hurricane Ivan. I had no desire to live through that again, especially now that … Continue reading →

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Operation Underworld

Posted on August 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

In New York harbor,  one of the largest and fastest passenger ships ever built lies on its side, a victim of fire. French-built, the United States seized the Normandie after France fell to Hitler and renamed it the Lafayette, intending … Continue reading →

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The Fighting Little Judge

Posted on July 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

Back in 2016, I played with the idea of reading biographies of various populists, for obvious reasons. William Jennings Bryant, Huey Long, and George C. Wallace were the three figures who leapt most to mind. Although George C. Wallace is … Continue reading →

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The American Nazi

Posted on July 24, 2025 by smellincoffee

How does a man who fought Hitler come to deify him? George Lincoln Rockwell began life as the child of a popular entertainer, and by adulthood was well-poised for a successful life. He’d gone to a good university, though his … Continue reading →

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Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates

Posted on July 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

“From the halls of MONteZUUUUUUMA, to the shores of Tripoli” — ever wonder where that Tripoli business comes from? While I’d sometimes encountered references to the early United States having issues with pirates in the Med in its early history, … Continue reading →

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Friends Divided

Posted on July 9, 2025 by smellincoffee

When I first read Gordon S. Wood, his Revolutionary Characters annoyed me in its short shrift given John Adams. Adams was one of the earliest voices inveighing against Parliament’s abuses of the American colonies, and I was flabbergasted that he … Continue reading →

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Short rounds: giant radioactive catfish and Congressional ballgames

Posted on June 27, 2025 by smellincoffee

It’s been a quiet week for reviews, largely because I’m nibbling on several books at once instead of committing to anything. Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom is, as I discovered upon laying eyes on it at the post office, a junior-level science … Continue reading →

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