Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Stories, southern and otherwise

Posted on November 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

Rick Bragg is one of those authors I gave a shot simply because people around me wouldn’t shut up about him. It’s easy to understand why, after only a page or two;  he has a gift for storytelling, one he … Continue reading →

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Together

Posted on November 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World© 2020 Vivek H. Murthy352 pages People are generally open about their physical health; indeed, for men of a certain age, it’s their favorite topic of discussion — at least, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Dopesick

Posted on November 17, 2022 by smellincoffee

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America© 2018 Beth Macy384 pages More people are expected to die from accidental drug overdoses in the next five years than have died in the previous fifteen, part of an overall … Continue reading →

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The Every

Posted on November 9, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Every© 2021 Dave Eggers608 pages Nearly ten years ago, Dave Eggers published The Circle,   about the rise of an uber-corporation whose products had transformed not only the digital world, but were beginning to shape society as well.  Think … Continue reading →

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Go Set a Watchman

Posted on November 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Go Set a Watchman© 2015 Harper Lee 288 pages When it was announced that Harper Lee had published a sequel to her legendary book, Go Set a Watchman,  I was skeptical, as were many.  Given how close its author was … Continue reading →

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Afternoons with Harper Lee

Posted on October 31, 2022 by smellincoffee

Afternoons with Harper Lee© 2022 Wayne Flynt256 pages Recently I had the pleasure of listening to historian Dr. Wayne Flynt speak at my local library,  drawing from his new book, Afternoons with Harper Lee.   As with Mockingbird Songs, a … Continue reading →

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Spinning Atoms in the Desert

Posted on October 27, 2022 by smellincoffee

Bombast: Spinning Atoms in the Desert© 2010 Michon Mackedon236 pages Which is more breathtaking, the power of the atom bomb or the hubris of governments that use it? Michon Mackedon’s Bombast will leave readers wondering. It reviews the approach of … Continue reading →

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America Walks into a Bar

Posted on October 25, 2022 by smellincoffee

America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops© 2014 Christine Sismondo336 pages Welcome, friend. Pull up a stool.    You’ve come in at the tail end of a story, but it’s one … Continue reading →

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Armstrong

Posted on October 21, 2022 by smellincoffee

Custer of the West: Armstrong© 2018 H.W. Crocker III264 pages History records that General George A. Custer was killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn, ending an illustrious and often dramatic career. History is wrong, for  we discover in Armstrong … Continue reading →

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Life and Death in the Third Reich

Posted on October 20, 2022 by smellincoffee

Life and Death in the Third Reich© 2009 Peter Fritzsche384 pages A few years ago I read Peter Fritzsche’s An Iron Wind: Europe Under Hitler, which examined how the Nazi conquest of most of Europe permeated into its culture in … Continue reading →

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