Category Archives: Reviews

Cell

Posted on July 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

Cell© 2014 Robin Cook416 pages The future of medicine is here, in the form of a smartphone that can function as a medical diagnostic tool, complete with a machine-learning program called “iDoc” which monitors patients’ diets and vitals,  chatting with … Continue reading →

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A New History of India

Posted on July 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

A New History of India© 2000, sixth edition Stanley Wolpert471 pages India isn’t an easy place to keep running. Stanley Wolpert’s A New History of India gives a chiefly-political, mostly-modern history of one of the world’s most ancient civilizations, a land … Continue reading →

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Passionate Sage

Posted on July 11, 2017 by smellincoffee

Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams© 1993 Joseph Ellis288 pages G.K. Chesteron once wrote that the Catholic Church is the only thing that saves a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age. … Continue reading →

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Contra Mundum

Posted on July 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And … Continue reading →

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East of Eden

Posted on July 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

East of Eden© 1952 John Steinbeck580 pages Why did Cain kill Abel?  East of Eden explores that question via a family saga, one that stretches across North America, spanning the continent as well as the generations;  a story that begins at … Continue reading →

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Medical tricorders, dirty old men, and controlling the internet

Posted on July 3, 2017 by smellincoffee

Before we head further into July, here are a few ‘missed’ reviews.. First up, The Patient Will See You Now. This book was part of the “Rebuilding Towards the Future” series, in which I read books about ways that ideas … Continue reading →

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A Place in Time

Posted on July 2, 2017 by smellincoffee

A Place in Time© 2013 Wendell Berry256 pages Come again to Port William (and vicinity), a community — a membership — on the banks of the river.  A Place in Time collects twenty stories of the community, all  of varying lengths, … Continue reading →

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Hackers

Posted on July 1, 2017 by smellincoffee

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution© 1984 Steven Levy458 pages How did computers cease to be the playthings of secretive governments, universities, and multinational corporations and become instead fixtures in 80-90% of all American homes?   Hackers: Heroes of the … Continue reading →

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Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet

Posted on June 28, 2017 by smellincoffee

Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin© 2008 Bill Kauffman227 pages There isn’t enough whitewash in the world to create a Luther Martin hagiography, Bill Kauffman admits, but in the spirit of lost causes he does his best. Billed … Continue reading →

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The Lost Continent

Posted on June 27, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America© 1989 Bill Bryson When I read The Road to Little Dribbling, full of Bryson complaining and thinking murderously about people who so much as annoyed him, I returned it disappointed. “Bryson’s turned … Continue reading →

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