Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Ornament of the World

Posted on September 4, 2015 by smellincoffee

Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain© 2002 Maria Rose Menocal315 pages            Ornament of the World is the story of a unique civilization in medieval Europe, one … Continue reading →

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The Quartet

Posted on September 2, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783 – 1789 © 2015 Joseph Ellis 320 pages How many men does it take to make a revolution? The American Revolution is usually taken to include the rising animus against the political … Continue reading →

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The Spice Route

Posted on September 1, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Spice Route© 2005 John Keay308 pages Spock was right. Having a thing is often not as pleasant as wanting a thing. It is not logical, but it is often true. Such was the case with the spice trade, which so … Continue reading →

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Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations

Posted on August 30, 2015 by smellincoffee

Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations© 2013 Jules Evans320 pages  For most, philosophy is a subject that screams impotent academic prattle, the practice of strange individuals who are clearly paid too much to gaze into their navels and pontificate … Continue reading →

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Sword of the Angles

Posted on August 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

Leofric: Sword of the Angles© 2015 S. J. Arnott412 pages The days are dark for Angeln. Surrounded by enemies and increasingly depopulated as her people flee to more peaceful fields in Britain, her king has seen fit to enlist one-time … Continue reading →

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Tevye’s Daughters

Posted on August 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

Tevye and his Seven Daughters© 1894 Sholom Aleichem300 pages Consider the question: is it possible to enjoy a book while having music from a movie it inspired playing incessantly in your head every time a page is turned? Well, more … Continue reading →

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The Devil Knows Latin

Posted on August 22, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition© 1999 E. Christian Kopf327 pages Earlier in the week I read The Devil Knows Latin, which like Who Killed Homer? contends for the value of a classical education to western civilization.  … Continue reading →

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Vanished World

Posted on August 13, 2015 by smellincoffee

A Vanished World: Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Medieval Spain© 2005 Chris Lowney320 pages Vanished World sets medieval  Spain before the reader with the warning; we may be blessed or cursed by emulating its example. The Iberian peninsula is the very perimeter of … Continue reading →

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Cod

Posted on August 10, 2015 by smellincoffee

Cod: A Biography of a Fish that Changed the World© 1997 Mark Kurlansky294 pages In Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky detailed the surprisingly impactful career of a table condiment on human history. The importance of salted fish, both as … Continue reading →

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10 Don’ts On Your Digital Devices

Posted on August 6, 2015 by smellincoffee

10 Don’ts On Your Digital Devices© 2015 Eric Rzesut, Daniel Bachrach180 pages Networked computers are no longer the hulking monsters of the 1970s,  only found in  industrial and military installations. In the second decade of the 21st century, they are … Continue reading →

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