Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Farewell to Arms

Posted on July 10, 2019 by smellincoffee

A Farewell to Arms © 1929 Ernest Hemingway 355 pages Beyond The Old Man and the Sea and his short story “The Snows of Kilamanjaro”, I haven’t read very much of Hemingway at all.  A Farewell to Arms seemed like … Continue reading →

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Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder and The Birth of the American Mafia

Posted on July 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia © 2009 Mike Dash 416 pages Although Prohibition is generally blamed for the rapid growth of the Mafia,   First Family demonstrates that America’s  mob problem began … Continue reading →

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What Einstein Told His Cook

Posted on July 5, 2019 by smellincoffee

What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained© 2002  Richard Wolke369 pages What did Einstein tell his cook?  ..I still don’t know. I have learned, however, that it is possible to make a jello out of champagne;  that concrete sidewalks, … Continue reading →

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The Thinking Man’s Gangster

Posted on June 28, 2019 by smellincoffee

Meyer Lansky: The Thinking Man’s GangsterRevised and expanded reprint of Little Man: The Gangster Life of Meyer Lanksy 457 pages© 2019 Robert Lacey There’s no such thing as a lucky gambler. There’s only winners and losers, and the winners are the … Continue reading →

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The Lone Warrior

Posted on June 25, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Lone Warrior© 2016 Paul Fraser Collard384 pages The time for grand strategy was over. The moment had come to put faith in an Enfield rifle, a steel bayonet and the exhausted and bloodied soldier who stood behind it. Jack … Continue reading →

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American Detective

Posted on June 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

American Detective: Behind the Scenes of Famous Criminal Investigations© 2018  Thomas Reppetto312 pages I’ve been playing through L.A. Noire lately, and its use of real-life crime (the Black Dahlia case)  prompted me to look for anything written about it. American … Continue reading →

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The Devil’s Assassin

Posted on June 19, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Devil’s Assassin© 2015 Paul Fraser Collard336 pages   Jack was filled with the madness. He could feel it searing through his veins. It resonated deep in his soul, every fibre of his being tingling with the insanity of galloping … Continue reading →

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The Maharajah’s General

Posted on June 14, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Maharajah’s General© 2013 Paul Fraser Collard339 pages In The Scarlet Thief, an ambitious but impoverished redcoat saw a way for himself out of the gutter when the officer he served as an orderly became deathly ill on a sea … Continue reading →

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Metropolis

Posted on June 12, 2019 by smellincoffee

Metropolis© 2019 Phillp Kerr384 pages At the height of Weimar decadence, young Bernie Gunther is invited to join the Murder Commission. It’s a step up from Vice, and the department needs every watchful eye and quick wit it can get:  … Continue reading →

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Top Ten Favorite History Reads

Posted on June 8, 2019 by smellincoffee

My PC was in the shop this past Tuesday (trying to figure out why a new graphics card wasn’t working — turns out the card itself is defective), so I missed the “Books from Your Favorite Genre” list done on … Continue reading →

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