Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

A Man on the Moon

Posted on August 27, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Man on the Moon:  the Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts © 1994 Andrew Chaikin670 pages Yet a higher goal was calling, and we vowed to reach it soon So we gave ourselves a decade to put fire on the moon … Continue reading →

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They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?

Posted on August 26, 2012 by smellincoffee

They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? © 2012 Christopher Buckley335 pages They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? is a satirical novel about the power of the military-industrial congress, its lead character undertaking a mission to pose as a lobbyist to whip up anti-China … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (20 August)

Posted on August 21, 2012 by smellincoffee

Reviews are pending for A Man on the Moon, by Neil Chaikan as well as The Wild Life of Our Bodies by Rob Dunn. (Pending, as in, “I meant to finish them on Sunday, but some friends invited me to … Continue reading →

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John Adams

Posted on August 18, 2012 by smellincoffee

John Adams© 2001 David McCullough751 pages The memory of some American presidents looms over the national mind like their monuments tower above the landscape. But John Adams has no monument on the National Mall: his face does not stare down … Continue reading →

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Q Squared

Posted on August 17, 2012 by smellincoffee

Star Trek the Next Generation: Q Squared©  1994 Peter David434 pages On Stardate 2124.5, Captain Kirk and the Enterprise had a memorable experience with an impish creature named Trelane, a being of extraordinary power but the maturity of a child. … Continue reading →

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Coup d’Etat

Posted on August 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

The War that Came Early: Coup d’Etat© 2012 Harry Turtledove416 pages Coup d’Etat is the fourth book in Turtledove’s War that Came Early series, in which World War 2 begins at the 1938 Munich Conference when the Allies call Hitler’s … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (6 August)

Posted on August 6, 2012 by smellincoffee

Aside from special occasions like Independence Day, I don’t plan my reading. I tend to follow whatever ensnares my interest, though this tends to result in my gorging  on a particular topic, sometimes to the point that I get sick … Continue reading →

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Lost Moon

Posted on August 3, 2012 by smellincoffee

Lost Moon: the Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13© 1994 Jim Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger368 pages No one wants to hear ominous noises coming from their car in the middle of a road trip, especially if they’re in the middle of nowhere. … Continue reading →

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The Artificial River

Posted on July 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Artificial River: the Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1867© 1997 Carol Sheriff272 pages At the dawn of a new century, the two-decade old American republic stood hemmed in between storm-tossed Atlantic ocean and the towering Appalachian mountains. … Continue reading →

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The Ghosts of Evolution

Posted on July 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Ghosts of Evolution: Nonsense Fruit, Missing Partners, and Other Ecological Anachronisms© 2000 Connie Barlow291 pages Grocery stores are excellent places to encounter ghosts. They lurk in the fruit section, feasting on anachronisms. The biological world is a wondrous web … Continue reading →

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