Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Affluenza

Posted on February 13, 2017 by smellincoffee

Affluenza: the All-Consuming Epidemic© 2001, 2004, 2014  John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas Naylor288 pages In getting and spending, we lay waste to all our powers — so sayeth the poet. Originally published in 2001, Affluenza is a critique of consumerism, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Posted on February 11, 2017 by smellincoffee

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World© 2005 Jack Weatherford325 pages For all the differences and tensions between the West, Iran, and China, all can agree on one thing: the Mongols were mean. Genghis Khan roared out of … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Out of the Ashes

Posted on February 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture © 2017 Anthony Esolen 256 pages Some things, like a Roman bridge, can last for millennia through the virtue of their design, the simplicity of their use, and the inherent strength of their … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Before Plan 9

Posted on February 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

Before Plan 9: Plans 1-8 From Outer Space© 2012 various authors354 pages TV Producer:”About the title…it’s highly inflammatory. What if we changed it to ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’?” Ed Wood: …that’s ridiculous.  (From Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp) Greetings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Future of the Mind

Posted on February 5, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Future of the Mind: the Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind© 2014 Michio Kaku400 pages In The Future of the Mind, physicist Michio Kaku talks with psychologists and neurologists like V.S. Ramachandran (Phantoms in the Brain, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The City on the Edge of Forever: the Original Teleplay

Posted on February 5, 2017 by smellincoffee

The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay© 1996 Harlan Ellision, with numerous afterwords276 pages In the classic Star Trek episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever”, Captain Kirk must chase a mentally disturbed man into Earth’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

We Forgot Our New Years Pie

Posted on February 4, 2017 by smellincoffee

Every year I typically post an enormous year-in-review with a pie graph. This year I decided to try out a mere top ten list instead of the usual monograph, but I still need my graph fix. So here’s a graphic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Trade, ancient and modern: from China to the Sharing Economy

Posted on February 4, 2017 by smellincoffee

Two micro-reviews for you…one on The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia, the other on Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing. The Silk Road consists of several chapters in central-Asian history, with generous photographs … Continue reading →

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

A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science

Posted on January 31, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Canon: A whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science© 2007 Natalie Angier293 pages Science is amazing! Why is so much of the writing about it so lame?   Natalie Angier’s The Canon first reviews the principles of scientific thinking … Continue reading →

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

Looking ahead & some also-reads

Posted on January 31, 2017 by smellincoffee

I intentionally launched this year off with some fun reading, so we’re off to a good start and there’s more on the way.  Yesterday Amazon held a flash sale for science books, and I picked up a few relatively recent … Continue reading →

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