Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Chainbreaker’s War

Posted on June 29, 2010 by smellincoffee

Chainbreaker’s War: a Seneca Chief Remembers the American Revolution© 2002 ed. Jeanne Winston Adler224 pages On the eastern seaboard, young militia men marched around their town squares, tea-chests floated in Boston Harbor, and the bells of war tolled. Only a … Continue reading →

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The Man with the Iron Heart

Posted on June 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Man with the Iron Heart© 2008 Harry Turtledove532 pages On 27 May 1942, Reinhard Heydrich barely escapes death at the hands of a Czech hitman, his life being saved by the assassin’s weapon jamming.  Although the misfire does not … Continue reading →

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The Summons

Posted on June 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Summons© 2002 John Grisham373 pages When Professor Ray Atlee returned to his family home in Clanton, Mississippi to discuss his ailing father’s will, he found two surprises waiting for him. His father, an elderly judge who even in retirement … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (23/6)

Posted on June 23, 2010 by smellincoffee

From the past two weeks…. Memories of Old Cahaba dates to the start of the 20th century, and is the recollections of a woman who lived in Alabama’s first state capital (now a ghost town) as a teenager. I checked … Continue reading →

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The World Through Maps

Posted on June 23, 2010 by smellincoffee

The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography© 2003 John Short224 pages Cartography has interested me ever since elementary school, when I read that Christopher Columbus worked in a cartographer’s shop. The idea that people made maps fascinated me, and … Continue reading →

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Hornblower and the Hotspur

Posted on June 22, 2010 by smellincoffee

Hornblower and the Hotspur© 1962 CS Forester344 pages Young Horatio Hornblower flourished as an officer in the King’s service during the general European war against the fledgling French republic, the war having given an ambitious and intelligent officer like himself … Continue reading →

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Tales of the Dominion War

Posted on June 20, 2010 by smellincoffee

Tales of the Dominion WarPublished in 2004, editor Keith DeCandido370 pages O’Brien: Engage, retreat, engage, retreat. I tell you, that’s becoming our favorite tune.  Bashir: Well, we’d better think of a new tune fast or the only song we’re going … Continue reading →

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Weapons of Satire

Posted on June 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the American-Phillipine War© 1992 Mark Twain; edited by Jim Zwick.256 pages Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword; He is searching out the hoardings where the stranger’s wealth is … Continue reading →

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The Magicians

Posted on June 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Magicians© Lev Grossman 2009416 pages Quentin Coldwater is an unenthused high school student on the verge of depression, feeling out of place in life itself.  Suffering from tedium, loneliness, and unrequited love, Quentin often finds escape in the magical … Continue reading →

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The Other Side of Selma

Posted on June 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Other Side of Selma© 2001 R.B. “Dickie” Williams103 pages Years ago while roaming aimlessly in my home library, I spotted a little collection of stories about Selma during the fifties and sixties. I read and enjoyed it, as the … Continue reading →

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