Tag Archives: America

A Renegade History of the United States

Posted on January 28, 2015 by smellincoffee

A Renegade History of the United States © 2010 Thaddaeus Russell402 pages “All of you, you think there’s someone just gonna drop money on you? Money they could use? …well, there ain’t people like that! There’s just people like me!”  (Jayne … Continue reading →

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Nullification

Posted on January 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century© 2011 Thomas E. Woods, Jr309 pages In a game of word association, chances are that ‘nullification’ would not meet with flattering replies. Nullification is a word associated with the Civil … Continue reading →

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The Strange Career of Jim Crow

Posted on December 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Strange Career of Jim Crow© 1955, 1965 C. Van Woodward245 pages             Fifty years ago, racial and civil unrest swept the United States as organized resistance to the morally outrageous and legally dodgy practice of … Continue reading →

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Tobacco

Posted on September 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization416 pages© 2003 Iain Gateley The age of discovery opened an era of global domination by European culture and power, but in at least one instance, the new world had its … Continue reading →

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Drink

Posted on August 16, 2014 by smellincoffee

Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol© 2008 Ian Gately546 pages “We should thank God for beer and burgundy by not drinking too much of them.”  – G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy A substance that a third of the world institutionalizes as a … Continue reading →

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Jefferson

Posted on July 9, 2014 by smellincoffee

Jefferson: A Novel© 1998 William Brant448 pages In  the late 1780s,  William Short put pen to paper to create a biography of his boss and mentor, Thomas Jefferson. Then serving as ambassador to France, Jefferson was already a seasoned American … Continue reading →

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Common Sense

Posted on July 4, 2014 by smellincoffee

Common Sense© 1776 Tom Paine After the battles of Lexington and Concord that scotched any idea of peaceful reconciliation between Britain and its former colonies, but before the Declaration of Independence that stared the colonies on their march toward united … Continue reading →

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The Partly Cloudy Patriot

Posted on June 18, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Partly Cloudy Patriot© 2003 Sarah Vowell197 pages           The Partly Cloudy Patriot sees cheeky Yank Sarah Vowell muse on history, politics, and American life in general through a series of essays written in 2001. Her familar … Continue reading →

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A Splendid Exchange

Posted on May 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World© 2009 David Bernstein496 pages            History oft moves with the caravans and trade fleets, and its journeys along the routes  of the past and present are given a storied account … Continue reading →

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More Work for Mother

Posted on May 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

More Work for Mother: the Ironies of American Housework © 1985 Ruth Cowan            288 pages        Throughout the 20thcentury,  households were transformed by a new abundance of labor-saving devices, from washing machines to toaster ovens, and processed … Continue reading →

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