Tag Archives: America

Tiger Chair

Posted on June 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

War. War never changes. Oh, the execution of it changes — spears become rifles, scouts on fast horses are replaced by drones and mining photos for GPS data — but the horror of it remains, as does certain truths like … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The War of 1812

Posted on December 12, 2023 by smellincoffee

The war of 1812 has had a particular fascination for me in recent years, in part because of the complexity of the conflict: it began as an offshoot of the Napoleonic Wars, as Britain’s attempts to control the azure main … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How the Post Office Created America

Posted on July 5, 2018 by smellincoffee

How the Post Office Created America:  A History© 2016 Winifred Gallagher336 pages Once the conduit of revolution, then a mainstay of communities both rural and urban, the post office has fallen on rough times as of late.   Amid speculation that … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Poetry Night at the Ballpark

Posted on February 3, 2018 by smellincoffee

Poetry Night at the Ballpark and Other Scenes from an Alternative America © 2015 Bill Kauffman 442 pages  “Lift up your hearts, friends – America ain’t dead yet.”  For thirty years, Bill Kauffman has been blowing raspberries at or haranguing … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Republic of Imagination

Posted on September 7, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Republic of Imagination: America in Three BooksOther edition subtitle: A Case for Fiction© 2014 Azar Nafisi352 pages When Azar Nafisi taught literature in Iran, she dreamed of America. Not the United States, the government of which had been making … Continue reading →

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The Irish Soldiers of Mexico

Posted on August 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Irish Soldiers of Mexico© 1997 Michael Hogan298 pages And it was there in the pueblos and the hillsidesThat I saw the mistake I had madePart of a conquering army, with the morals of a bayonet brigadeAnd amidst all these … Continue reading →

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The Lost Continent

Posted on June 27, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America© 1989 Bill Bryson When I read The Road to Little Dribbling, full of Bryson complaining and thinking murderously about people who so much as annoyed him, I returned it disappointed. “Bryson’s turned … Continue reading →

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Florida Under Five Flags

Posted on March 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

Florida Under Five Flags© 1945 Rembert Patrick160 pages Note: I read from the 1st edition. This cover is from the 5th edition,  which has been updated and presumably revised. The State of Florida entered the Union in 1845; in 1945, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Chinese in America

Posted on January 7, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Chinese in America: A Narrative History© 2003 Iris Chang558 pages Like most Americans, my earliest notion of the Chinese in America is an association with the Transcontinental railroad. As it happened, their story begins before that, with the California … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

America First

Posted on September 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

America First: Its History, Culture, and Politics© 1995 Bill Kauffman296 pages For slightly over a year prior to the attack at Pearl Harbor, there existed a civic organization of nearly a million people called the America First Committee. It dedicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments