Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

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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Hurricane Katrina through the Eyes of Storm Chasers

Posted on June 26, 2016 by smellincoffee

Hurricane Katrina through the Eyes of Storm Chasers© 200596 pages, virtually all photographs I recently discovered a collection of Hurricane Katrina photography that I thought worth mentioning.  The book collects photos taken by Jim Reed and Mike Theiss, principally in … Continue reading →

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The Romulan Stratagem

Posted on June 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Romulan Stratagem© 1995 Robert Greenberger297 pages A planet on the border of the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan empires has invited the Enterprise to sell its government on Federation membership. When the Big E arrives, however, they find a Romulan warbird … Continue reading →

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On Free Will

Posted on June 23, 2016 by smellincoffee

Suppose for a moment, that we define a virtuous act as bowing in the direction of Mecca every day at sunset. We attempt to persuade everyone to perform this act. But suppose that instead of relying on voluntary conviction we … Continue reading →

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Wrath of the Prophets

Posted on June 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

ST DS9: Wrath of the Prophets© 1997 Michael Jan Friedman, Peter David, Robert Greenberger300 pages On the cover: Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys, Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren An epidemic is sweeping Bajor, a pestilence born of faulty replicators smuggled … Continue reading →

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Three for One: Robbing Banks and Being Robbed by the Banks

Posted on June 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

I stumbled upon The Great Taos Bank Robbery at some point last year. What road led me to it I can’t say, but it is a most interesting little book — a combination of folk history, humorous stories, and archaeology.  The … Continue reading →

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Green, Blue, and Grey

Posted on June 18, 2016 by smellincoffee

Green, Blue, and Grey: the Irish in the American Civil War©  2009 Cal McCarthy325 pages Three cheers for the red, white, and blue! For the green flag of Erin so true.. The music of the Civil War reflects the sheer … Continue reading →

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The Orthodox Church

Posted on June 17, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Orthodox Church© 1963, 1993 Kallistos (Timothy) Ware368 pages Who are the Orthodox? To the extent Americans have heard of them, it is through eastern European immigrant communities. Those who paid marginal attention in western civ might remember something called … Continue reading →

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