Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Empire

Posted on September 4, 2010 by smellincoffee

Empire: the Novel of Imperial Rome© 2010 Steven Saylor589 pages Last summer — strangely enough about a year ago last week —  I had the pleasure of reading Roma: the Novel of Ancient Rome. The novel was a thousand-year epic, … Continue reading →

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Our Oriental Heritage

Posted on September 3, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage © 1935 Will Durant 1048 pages “Civilization is social order promoting cultural creation.”  (Opening sentence.) Our Oriental Heritage is the introductory volume of a greater work, an eleven-book set covering prehistory to the last days of Napoleon. Judging … Continue reading →

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The Spanish-American War

Posted on September 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Spanish-American War© 1991 Albert Marrin182 pages While still a sophomore in high school, I spotted a book titled The Airman’s War in my school library and checked it out. It become a favorite, one of the first history books I … Continue reading →

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Lost Souls

Posted on September 1, 2010 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Destiny: Lost Souls © 2008 David Mack 453 pages As far as cliffhangers go, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one as dramatic as the final pages of Mere Mortals,  the second in the Destiny trilogy, but Lost Souls’ conclusion exceeds it … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (25 August – 1 September)

Posted on September 1, 2010 by smellincoffee

This week at the library… The Birth of the United States by Isaac Asimov is second in his American history series, picking up from the end of the Seven Years’ War and following the story of the thirteen colonies through … Continue reading →

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The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower

Posted on August 31, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower© 1970 C. Northcote Parkinson304 pages Last week I finished C.S. Forester’s series of sea stories following the adventures of Horatio Hornblower, a navy man who rose to prominence during the Napoleonic Wars. I … Continue reading →

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Disease Fighters Since 1950

Posted on August 30, 2010 by smellincoffee

Disease Fighters since 1950© 1996 Ray Spangenburg and Diane Kit Moser164 pages Spotting this excited me, as Spangenburg and Moser’s history of science series (On the Feet of Giants and its expanded and revised successor) were delights for me in … Continue reading →

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Booking through Thursday: Giving

Posted on August 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

Booking through Thursday asks: If you’re not enjoying a book, will you stop mid-way? Or do you push through to the end? What makes you decide to stop? It’s rare that I find a book I don’t enjoy, because I tend … Continue reading →

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Mere Mortals

Posted on August 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

Star Trek Destiny: Mere Mortals© 2008 David Mack433 pages The small, finite lives of mere mortals carry little weight in the calculations of gods. But even gods may come to understand that they underestimate humans at their peril.  (From the … Continue reading →

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The Birth of the United States

Posted on August 25, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Birth of the United States© 1973 Isaac Asimov274 pages, including a table of dates. While trolling Amazon in search of elusive copies of Isaac Asimov’s Roman history books, I chanced to find evidence of a four-book history series on … Continue reading →

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