Category Archives: World Affairs

Double play: Mobile & Latin America

Posted on February 15, 2021 by smellincoffee

This past week has seen a little progress on the ol’ TBR front, as I knocked out three books from the list, including The Network and those below. First up was E.O. Wilson’s Why We Are Here: Mobile and the … Continue reading →

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Our Time Has Come

Posted on January 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World ©  2018 Alyssa Ayres360 pages The India of the 21st century is more than  the word’s back office;  by some measures, it has already overtaken Japan as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Limits of Partnership

Posted on January 18, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century© 2014 Angela Stent384 pages The Limits of Partnership examines the Russo-American relationship through four presidential administrations,  reviewing what progress was made  or conflicts each American executive had with his Russian counterpart. … Continue reading →

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The Iran Wars

Posted on October 3, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals that Reshaped the Middle East© 2016 Jay Solomon352 pages When the young people of Iran hit the streets in protest about suspicious election returns in 2009, the United States … Continue reading →

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The Looming Tower

Posted on September 28, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Looming Tower: Al-Queda and the Road to 9/11 © 2006 Lawrence Wright 480 pages “[…] we’re told that they were zealots, fueled by religious fervor…religious fervor. And if you live to be a thousand years old, will that make … Continue reading →

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Fool’s Errand

Posted on February 8, 2018 by smellincoffee

Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan© 2017 Scott Horton318 pages Incredible as it sounds, it is nearly possible for a child conceived in the first week of the US invasion of Afghanistan to have come of age … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

eaarth

Posted on May 4, 2013 by smellincoffee

earth: making a life on a tough new planet© 2010 Bill McKibben253 pages Oh, we’re in trouble.  For two decades, forward-thinking politicians have made noise about climate change. “We’ve gotta do something to save the world for our grandchildren,” they say. But … Continue reading →

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Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet

Posted on April 13, 2013 by smellincoffee

Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet352 pages© 2008 Michael T. Klare For much of the 20th century, a handful of industrialized countries enjoyed access to a seemingly infinite supply of oil. But a century of economic progress has seen global demand for … Continue reading →

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The Crisis of Islam

Posted on November 25, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror© 2001, 2003 Bernard Lewis184 pages Bernard Lewis’ What Went Wrong? examined the failure of modernity in the middle east, but did not address its role in the rise of terrorism. The Crisis … Continue reading →

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North Korea: Another Country

Posted on May 22, 2010 by smellincoffee

North Korea: Another Country© 2004 Bruce Cumings241 pages “It helps in understanding North Korea if you have lived in a fundamentalist Christian community…just like the North Koreans, we believed in the absolute purity of our doctrines. We focused inward and … Continue reading →

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