Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Sphere

Posted on May 7, 2016 by smellincoffee

Sphere© 1987 Michael Crichton385 pages  Norman Thomas is accustomed to government officials asking for his assistance to counsel survivors at plane crashes, but traveling fifteen hours into the middle of the Pacific is a first.   Upon arrival, John finds … Continue reading →

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Aces over Ypres

Posted on May 6, 2016 by smellincoffee

Aces over Ypres© 2016 John Stack286 pages Charlie Sexton didn’t choose the RFC life, the RFC life chose him. Literally.  As the Great War opened in Europe, Charlie was a member of the 119th Artillery, the same unit his father … Continue reading →

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Diving Companions

Posted on May 6, 2016 by smellincoffee

Diving Companions: Sea Lion – Elephant Seal – Walrus ©  1974 Jacques-Yves Cousteau 304 pages Before David Attenborough, there was Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who helped invent SCUBA gear and used it in expeditions across the globe to explore the unknown right … Continue reading →

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Driving with the Devil

Posted on May 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Driving with the Devil:  Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR© 2006 Neil Thompson411 pages Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy He’s the best driver in the lan’ He say that he learned to race a stock … Continue reading →

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After the Prophet

Posted on May 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

After the Prophet: the Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split © 2009 Lesley Hazleton256 pages When Muhammad lay in his deathbed, legend has it that he cried to God for pity on those who would follow him. With no sons and … Continue reading →

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ST: The Patrian Transgression

Posted on May 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Patrian Transgression© 1994 Simon Hawke Annnnnnnnnnd kickoff for the Warp Speed Challenge! In The Patrian Transgression, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Patria to investigate a plea for help. According to the planet’s leaders, the Klingons are supplying weapons to … Continue reading →

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Wrapping Up and Boldly Going

Posted on April 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

Read of England 2016 was by any reckoning a roaring success. Not only did I finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy. but I sampled a good variety of renown English authors from mid-March ’til yesterday. English ClassicsReturn of the … Continue reading →

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The Voyage of the Beagle

Posted on April 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Voyage of the Beagle© 1839 Charles Darwin448 pages* As a young man, Charles Darwin lacked sharp direction. His father wanted him to become a doctor, but he hated the sight of blood.  His passion was natural philosophy, the observation … Continue reading →

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In the Days of the Comet

Posted on April 27, 2016 by smellincoffee

In the Days of the Comet© 1906 H.G. Wells276 pages Have you been cyanogened yet?  Carl Sagan delivered that preposterous line in the original Cosmos, reading the newspaper headlines of a century past. Then, as Halley’s Comet approached the Earth, … Continue reading →

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Much to Hope from the Flowers

Posted on April 27, 2016 by smellincoffee

(Wild Roses, Rick Hansen) Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. … Continue reading →

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