Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Demonic Males

Posted on January 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence© 1996 Dale Peterson and Richard Wrangham350 pages Why is the world run by violent men?  Demonic Males  argues that human males are by violent by nature,  a trait we share with … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Dictator

Posted on January 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

Dictator○ 2015 Robert Harris416 pages “Why should you be the one to stop Caesar?!” “Who else is there?” It is the twilight of the Roman republic.  Liberty and the rule of law are in tatters, withered by an alliance of … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Destiny, Disrupted

Posted on January 12, 2016 by smellincoffee

Destiny, Disruted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes© 2009 Tamim Ansary416 pages When Tamim Ansary was a boy, he loved history. Specifically, he loved narrativehistory, the kind of drama that brought the past to life.  The problem was that the … Continue reading →

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

Adieu to you, and you and you and you —

Posted on January 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

As 2015 was ending I finished up a couple of works which merit mentioning. Firstly is Jane Austen’s Emma.  I have read Austen before (Pride and Prejudice), intrigued by mention of Darcy as a model gentleman,  Emma was thus my … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How I Killed Pluto (And Why It Had it Coming)

Posted on January 1, 2016 by smellincoffee

How I Killed Pluto (and Why It Had it Coming)© 2010 Mike Brown288 pages Is that not the greatest title ever? How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming is the tale of Pluto’s rise and fall as a … Continue reading →

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Rogue Lawyer

Posted on December 26, 2015 by smellincoffee

Rogue Lawyer© 2015 John Grisham344 pages (“Wait for 2016”, I said.  What can I say?) Rogue Lawyer ranks with The Appeal as one of John Grisham’s most cynical and bitter pieces of fiction. Its lead character, Sebastian Rudd, is vaguely reminiscent of … Continue reading →

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Horses at Work

Posted on December 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

Horses at Work: Harnessing Power in Industrial America© 2008 Ann Norton Greene322 pages The quintessential image of horses in American history is the cowboy, of rough men moving cattle in the wilderness on horseback. But follow the cattle, and their … Continue reading →

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

Forgotten Ally

Posted on December 19, 2015 by smellincoffee

Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II© 2013 Rana Mitter467 pages Two years before a mad painter’s schemes plunged the world into war, China was fighting for its life.  It began the 20th century at a crossroads; the old imperial order … Continue reading →

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Midway (Maybe)

Posted on December 15, 2015 by smellincoffee

With the end of the year only a little over two weeks away, it’s high time for me to knock off that classic romance. I’ve had Emma checked out for weeks with little headway made, not that I’ve made a serious … Continue reading →

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Hack

Posted on December 14, 2015 by smellincoffee

Hack: How I Stopped Worrying About What to do with my Life and Started Driving a Yellow Cab© 2008 Melissa Plaut256 pages At the age of twenty-nine, Melissa Plaut was let go from her job at an ad agency. She … Continue reading →

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