Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The World Until Yesterday

Posted on June 19, 2014 by smellincoffee

The World Until Yesterday© 2012 Jared Diamond481 pages             Earth has been the province of mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, and for most of the time he has transversed it in small tribal groups, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Power, Inc

Posted on June 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

Power, Inc: the Epic Rivalry between Government and Big Business© 2013 David Rothkopf448 pages      Historians of western civilization are used to viewing its late medieval and early modern period through the lens of a church versus state battle; the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Partly Cloudy Patriot

Posted on June 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Partly Cloudy Patriot© 2003 Sarah Vowell197 pages           The Partly Cloudy Patriot sees cheeky Yank Sarah Vowell muse on history, politics, and American life in general through a series of essays written in 2001. Her familar … Continue reading →

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

The Great War at Sea

Posted on June 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Great War at Sea: History of Naval Action 1914-1918© 1965 A.A. Hoehling346 pages             The Great War is not called the first world war for nothing, taking place as it did not only across the … Continue reading →

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

This week: Strife at Sea

Posted on June 16, 2014 by smellincoffee

This has been a productive week in fiction, of the short kind at least.  On Saturday afternoon I finished Power, Inc,  and that’s another one down from the to-be-read-list.  That list has altered a touch; I was using the wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, Reviews | Tagged , | 6 Comments

That Hideous Strength

Posted on June 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy Tale for Grown Ups © 1945 C.S. Lewis 384 pages Mark Studdock is a newly married sociologist who has been given the opportunity of a lifetime; the chance to work with a promising and … Continue reading →

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

The Vikings

Posted on June 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Vikings: A History© 2010 Robert Ferguson464 pagesUK title: The Hammer and the Cross: A History of the Vikings             VIKINGS!  For students of western civilization, the word has quite the mystique. Invaders from the frozen … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Global Weirdness

Posted on June 10, 2014 by smellincoffee

Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas, and the Weather of the Future© 2013 Climate Central224 pages           Global Weirdness is a climate briefing for the civic body; short, well-organized, and to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

This week: POWER! unLIMITED POWER!!!!!!

Posted on June 9, 2014 by smellincoffee

Dear readers: First, of literary interest, last night I discovered a “Classic Tales” podcast that features readings of classic stories. I haven’t figured out how to access their archives prior to February, but just on the front page are performances … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, Reviews | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Anthem

Posted on June 7, 2014 by smellincoffee

Anthem© 1938 Ayn Rand128 pages In a dark future, the triumph of collectivism has created a global society deteriorating to near-medieval conditions.  Man is utterly broken by the state, dominated by institutions from birth onward. Raised in cohorts in government … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments