Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Fire on the Waters

Posted on April 15, 2014 by smellincoffee

Fire on the Waters© David Poyer 2003448 pages When Eli Eaker volunteered his services to the USS Owanee, his chief intention was to get away from his domineering father and an arranged marriage to his beautiful but sisterly cousin Araminta. … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: war, commerce, and cities

Posted on April 14, 2014 by smellincoffee

Last week was taken up with Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity and  The Yellowhamer War: Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama. Considering that my leisure reading was Fire on the Waters, a naval novel set amid the … Continue reading →

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Confederates in the Attic

Posted on April 3, 2014 by smellincoffee

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War© 1999 Tony Hortwitz432 pages           For most of the United States, the Civil War is like any other entry in the history books, of interest but not very consequential. . … Continue reading →

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Raiders of the Nile

Posted on April 2, 2014 by smellincoffee

 Raiders of the Nile © 2014 Steven Saylor 352 pages   If fortune favors the foolish, young Gordianus of Rome must be foolish indeed. On his 22ndbirthday, he lavishly adorns his slave-turned-love-interest, Bethesda, only to see her kidnapped when she … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: the South and the search for meaning

Posted on March 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Dear readers: Spring is finally here, and with it, April.  As is my custom, I’ll be doing a special set of readings relating to English history or culture as we near St. George’s Day on the 26th.  While nothing is finalized, … Continue reading →

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An Ice Cream War

Posted on March 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

An Ice Cream War© 1982 William Boyd408 pages Although most of the action of the Great War took place in Europe, it spread throughout the world wherever Europe’s nations had allies or colonies. An Ice Cream War is a novel … Continue reading →

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A reading from "Confederates in the Attic"

Posted on March 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Awakening the next morning in a $27 room at Salisbury’s EconLodge, I recognized the appeal of dwelling on the South’s past rather than its present. Stepping from my room into the motel parking lot, I gazed out a low-slung horseshoe … Continue reading →

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I’ll Take My Stand

Posted on March 29, 2014 by smellincoffee

I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition © 1930 various authors. 410 pages  “There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called The Old South…Here in this pretty world Gallantry took its last bow…Here was the … Continue reading →

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The Long Loneliness

Posted on March 28, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Long Loneliness© 1952 Dorothy Day288 pages (Harper Collins, 2009(             Dorothy Day came of age amid the Great War, a child of struggling parents whose labors to make ends meet stayed with her even after they had achieved some … Continue reading →

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The Body Electric

Posted on March 26, 2014 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Cold Equations, Book Three: The Body Electric© 2013 David Mack352 pages Bad news. There’s a planet-sized machine with a companion black hole ominously named “Abaddon” using artificial wormholes to suck entire star systems into its maw.  Worse news: … Continue reading →

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