Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Whistler

Posted on December 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Whistler© 2015 John Grisham384 pages The offices of the Board of Judicial Conduct rarely see excitement.  Responsible for investigating claims of judicial abuse and defrocking offenders, their rowdiest target has been an old lech who forgot which bar  he … Continue reading →

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Glimpses of World History

Posted on December 26, 2016 by smellincoffee

Glimpses of World History© 1942 Jawaharlal Nehru1192 pages In 1930,  a man who would later become the first prime minister of India was thrown in jail for a period of two years. There, removed from his family and regretful that … Continue reading →

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Inside the Kingdom

Posted on December 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia432 pages© 2009 Robert Lacey When I first began paying attention to politics, the cozy relationship between Saudi Arabia and the DC power-caste  confused me to no end. … Continue reading →

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You Have the Right to Remain Innocent

Posted on December 23, 2016 by smellincoffee

You Have the Right to Remain Innocent © 2016 James Duane 152 pages “One of the Fifth amendment’s basic functions is to protect innocent men who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances.” (Ohio v. Reiner) “People are inherently honest, … Continue reading →

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Middle East Wrapup

Posted on December 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

Back in January I drew up a short list of five titles in early Islamic history, one which unexpectedly flared into a broader series on the middle east in general — and one with a strong Persian/Iranian bent. The original … Continue reading →

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Local democracy and the State of Jefferson

Posted on December 17, 2016 by smellincoffee

mp3  One of the local-democracy initiatives Bill Kauffman covered in his Bye, Bye, Miss American Empire was the ‘state of Jefferson’, an area of northern California (and bits of southern Oregon) that want to be free of their respective governments. Today, … Continue reading →

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The Aeneid for Boys and Girls

Posted on December 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Aeneid for Boys and Girls© 1908 Alfred J. Church300 pages What do I know of The Aeneid? It’s the story of a survivor of Troy, who goes on to found the City of Rome after breaking the Queen of Carthage’s … Continue reading →

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The Peace of Wild Things

Posted on December 11, 2016 by smellincoffee

When despair for the world grows in meand I wake in the night at the least soundin fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,I go and lie down where the wood drakerests in his beauty on … Continue reading →

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Bye Bye Miss American Empire

Posted on December 10, 2016 by smellincoffee

Bye Bye Miss American Empire: Neighborhood Patriots, Backcountry Rebels, and Underdog Crusades to Redraw America’s Political Map© 2010 Bill Kauffman You say you want a devolution? \ Far beyond the city across the river, this country is pregnant with happy … Continue reading →

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Sapiens

Posted on December 7, 2016 by smellincoffee

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind443 pages© 2014  Yuval Noah Harari In Sapiens, Yuval Harari presents a natural history of the human race from its flowering across Eurasia to a worried reflection on the prospects of of technohumanism. The book’s … Continue reading →

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