Category Archives: Reviews

Player Piano

Posted on November 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Player Piano© 1952 Kurt Vonnegut352 pages “I’d be in exile now, but everywhere’s the same…”      Not since the roaring twenties was American society so giddily obsessed with newfangled stuff than in the 1950s.  Americans were awash in material prosperity, … Continue reading →

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A Ghostly Watch and Wait: A Reading

Posted on November 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

“The most hideous scenes of all, however, were enacted in St. Sophia. Matins were already in progress when the beserk conquerors were heard approaching. Immediately the great bronze doors were closed, but the Turks soon smashed their way in. The … Continue reading →

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Between the Testaments

Posted on October 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Between the Testaments© 1960 D.S. Russell176 pages             The sudden eruption of Christianity from Judaism is inexplicable when considering only the Protestant Bible.  From nowhere burst the Trinity, Satan as a rebel, and an obsession with … Continue reading →

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Gone Girl (No Spoilers)

Posted on October 24, 2014 by smellincoffee

Gone Girl© 2012 Gillian Flynn432 pages Gone Girl is a dark pleasure, a thriller driven by loathsome people whose greatest achievements are an exercise in sociopathy. Like The Sopranos or The Tudors,  the story is a gripping one, utterly captivating and … Continue reading →

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Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist

Posted on October 23, 2014 by smellincoffee

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist© 2011 Brad Pitre240 pages Communion, the eating of bread and wine regarded as the body and blood of Jesus, is the heart of liturgical worship. Its place in Christian history holds such … Continue reading →

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They Thought They Were Free

Posted on October 22, 2014 by smellincoffee

They Thought they Were Free: the Germans, 1933-1945346 pages© 1955 Milton Mayer How could ordinary, decent people abide the Nazis for the span of twelve years — to allow a baby born at the NSDAP’s seizure of power to practically … Continue reading →

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A Reading on the Eve of Destruction

Posted on October 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

We know no spectacle in human history more instinct with pathos than that of these twelve million men, busy with the cares, hopes and joys of daily life, working in their fields or mills, or seated these summer evenings by … Continue reading →

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The Belt of Gold

Posted on October 16, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Belt of Gold© 1984 Cecelia Holland305 pages      Two Frankish brothers returning home from a pilgrim to Jerusalem become unwittingly involved in a palace coup when they rescue a damsel in distress on the road to Constantinople.  When … Continue reading →

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Civilisation: A Personal View

Posted on October 14, 2014 by smellincoffee

Civilisation: A Personal View© 1959 Sir Kenneth Clark359 pages We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion — … Continue reading →

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Seeing like a State

Posted on October 9, 2014 by smellincoffee

Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition have Failed© 1999 James Scott464 pages             Seeing like a State scrutinizes the organizational approach of state governments and other large institutions from the … Continue reading →

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