Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Conservative Mind

Posted on August 5, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot© 1953 Russell Kirk534 pages (7th Edition) For most of human history, change has been a glacier — slow to move, retreating as much as it advances. Since the scientific and industrial revolutions, however, … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: airborne chivalry, unschooling, and cool, cool, considerate men

Posted on August 5, 2013 by smellincoffee

The week’s reads: A Higher Call, Adam Makos | The Unschooling Handbook, Mary Griffith | Hannah Coulter, Wendell Berry | 1632, Eric Flint This week I’ve been reading from two larger works, both challenging: Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind and … Continue reading →

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1632

Posted on August 4, 2013 by smellincoffee

1632© 2000 Eric Flint608 pages Tremble, lords of Germany. A new breed has come into the world. What happens when you throw a small American mining town from the 20th century into the middle of Germany…during the 17th-century’s Thirty Years … Continue reading →

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Hannah Coulter

Posted on August 3, 2013 by smellincoffee

Hannah Coulter© 2005 Wendell Berry190 pages This is the story of my life, that while I lived it weighed upon me and pressed against me and filled all my senses to overflowing and is now like a dream dreamed. […] … Continue reading →

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The Unschooling Handbook

Posted on August 1, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Unschooling Handbook: How to Use the Whole World As Your Child’s Classroom© 1998 Marry Griffith240 pages What does it mean to educate a child? In the United States, schooling is dominated by standards, by regular exams that force educators … Continue reading →

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A Higher Call

Posted on July 31, 2013 by smellincoffee

A Higher Call© 2012 Adam Makos and Larry Alexander400 pages “You follow the rules of war for you — not your enemy. You fight by rules to keep your humanity.” The Eighth Air Force operating over Germany in the early … Continue reading →

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This week at the library: France, airborne chivalry, and Wendell Berry

Posted on July 29, 2013 by smellincoffee

Dear readers: This past week saw the conclusion of my annual tribute to France after reading An Outline of French History, by Rene Sedillot. The work is translated from French, but bears no weakness on that account: it is as … Continue reading →

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French Kids Eat Everything

Posted on July 27, 2013 by smellincoffee

French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters© 2012 Karen Le Billon 320 pages Upon landing in France to spend a year with her … Continue reading →

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The Choice

Posted on July 25, 2013 by smellincoffee

The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism© 2006 Russ Roberts128 pages  Imagine that George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life had wrestled not with the impulse to throw himself off of a bridge, but with the decision whether … Continue reading →

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It Can’t Happen Here

Posted on July 24, 2013 by smellincoffee

It Can’t Happen Here© 1935 Sinclair Lewis400 pages The Great Depression sent the entire western world reeling, destroying faith in the existing order and creating opportunities for charismatic, forceful leaders with vision to sweep into power and create societies anew … Continue reading →

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