Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Obstacle is the Way

Posted on July 6, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Obstacle is the Way© 2014 Ryan Holiday224 pages Let us say, dear reader, that you have heard of Stoicism, hailed as the go-to philosophy of mental fortitude. You want to read about it. But you don’t want to take … Continue reading →

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Our America

Posted on July 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States© 2014  Felipe Fernández-Armesto416 pages Spain disappears from American history books following the Spanish-American war, in which the tired old empire was given a sound thrashing and retreated from the hemisphere, but Spanish … Continue reading →

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Death Comes for the Archbishop

Posted on July 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

Death Comes for the Archbishop © 1927 Willa Cather 297 pages Poor New Mexico — so far from God, so close to the United States. The Pope can’t help the tide of American — and very Protestant — settlement that … Continue reading →

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So You Want to Read about the Revolution

Posted on July 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

Although I’m reading American literature for Independence Day instead of history, why not share some favorites from previous years’ Independence Day salutes? Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin from HBO’s John Adams. Founding BiographiesJohn Adams, David McCulloughFirst Family: John … Continue reading →

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The Monkey Wrench Gang

Posted on July 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Monkey Wrench Gang© 1975 Edward Abbey352 pages “Three things my daddy tried to learn me. ‘Son’, he always said, ‘remember these three precepts and you can’t go wrong. One, never eat at a place called Mom’s. Two, never play … Continue reading →

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O Pioneers!

Posted on June 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

O Pioneers! © 1913 Willa Cather 230 pages The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman. Hannover, Nebraska, is a frontier town on the brink of failing, a temporary camp upon a wild … Continue reading →

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White Fang

Posted on June 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

White Fang© 1906 Jack Londonpp. 1- 101, Tales of the North. “An’ right here I want to remark,’ Bill went on, ‘that that animal’s familiarity with camp-fires is suspicious an’ immoral.’‘It knows for certain more’n a self-respectin’ wolf ought to … Continue reading →

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Desolation Laughing

Posted on June 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. … Continue reading →

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The Great Debate

Posted on June 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the  Birth of Right and Left© 2013 Yuval Levin296 pages The Great Debate uses the war of letters between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine  to explain the philosophical differences between conservatism and … Continue reading →

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Harvest of Empire

Posted on June 27, 2016 by smellincoffee

Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America©  2000 Juan Gonzalez416 pages Harvest of Empire is a tale of two civilizations, Anglo and Spanish. In general terms, it recounts the history or rather the plight of Latin America, of people … Continue reading →

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