Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Ten Stories by Isaac

Posted on February 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Back in 2007, I discovered Isaac Asimov’s short stories and became a trifle obsessed with him, to the point that I have an entire bookcase devoted to his short stories, essays, novels and books.  Lately I’ve been feeling the itch … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Ain’t My America

Posted on January 31, 2016 by smellincoffee

Ain’t My America:  The Long and Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle Class Antimperialism ©  2008 Bill Kauffman 304 pages “You can have your hometown, or you can have the empire. You can’t have both.” You don’t have to … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Taxi!

Posted on January 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

Taxi! A Social History of the New York City Cabdriver©  2007 Graham Russell Gao Hodges225 pages No film set in New York City is complete without scenes of Manhattan traffic, dense with yellow cars — the patrolling ranks of the … Continue reading →

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

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 →

Posted in science | Tagged , | 5 Comments

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 →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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