Category Archives: Reviews

A Thousand Miles from Nowhere

Posted on October 1, 2017 by smellincoffee

A Thousand Miles from Nowhere© 1995 Graham Coster275 pages Great literature has been produced from travelers’ tales, from those who walked or rode trains or even drove — but none from a truck, says Graham Coster. In the hopes of … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Oktoberfest or Oktoberfright?

Posted on October 1, 2017 by smellincoffee

Regensburg,  Bavaria Well, dear readers, September was a fairly horrific month between the hurricanes and earthquakes and threats of nuclear war, so I hope October is calmer.   I usually read a piece of fiction or history associated with Germany at … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | 5 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

Of China and Narnia

Posted on September 21, 2017 by smellincoffee

Late last week I finished China Wakes, the account of two  married American journalists in China during the 1980s and early 1990s.  They found China frustratingly difficult to judge; as much promise as its economic liberalization showed,  the political and … Continue reading →

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

A Burglar’s Guide to the City

Posted on September 18, 2017 by smellincoffee

A Burglar’s Guide to the City© 2016 Geoff Manaugh304 pages There’s really no resisting a title like that, is there?  Mind, it’s not accurate;  this isn’t a guide to how burglars read architecture, a catalog of vulnerabilities that homeowners and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

My Life with the Saints

Posted on September 15, 2017 by smellincoffee

My Life with the Saints© 2007 James Martin, SJ414 pages The church I grew up in consistently referred to Rome as the whore of Babylon, so needless to say I didn’t learn anything about saints. I knew Biblical personalities, sure, … Continue reading →

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

Infrastructure: A Field Guide

Posted on September 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape© 1999, 2014 Brian Hayes544 pages Here at last is a book for those of us who constantly gaze out the car window at the fixtures on utility poles, or drums mounted in … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Black Ice

Posted on September 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Black Ice© 1993 Michael Connelly336 pages A body discovered in a sleazy motel on Christmas Eve connects a handful of otherwise dead cases, and sets Detective Harry Bosch against his own department, culminating in the pursuit of a half-chance … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Isaac’s Storm

Posted on September 10, 2017 by smellincoffee

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, A Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History© 1999 Erik Larson336 pages First news from Galveston just received by train that could get no closer to the bay shore than 6 mi  where the prairie was … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Eye of the Storm

Posted on September 10, 2017 by smellincoffee

Eye of the Storm: Inside City Hall During Katrina© 2007 Sally Forman260 pages Although Hurricane Katrina was not the biggest disaster to ever hit an American city, it was New Orleans’ greatest crisis — posing a near-existential threat to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments