Tag Archives: America

Independence Wrap-up

Posted on July 8, 2012 by smellincoffee

This year I continued in my tradition of reading some appropriate books around the Fourth of July, starting with the excellent Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis and moving on to two collections. The first, Our Sacred Honor by William J. … Continue reading →

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Founding Brothers

Posted on June 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

Founding Brothers:  the Revolutionary Generation © 2000 288 pages Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless under our bark, we knew not how, we rode through the storm … Continue reading →

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Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Posted on June 16, 2012 by smellincoffee

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why America Needs a Green Evolution: And How it Can Renew America© 2006 Thomas Friedman438 pages    The world is changing. Regardless of the consoling reassurances of corporations, industries, and the silk-tongued politicians who lobby on their … Continue reading →

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A Blaze of Glory

Posted on June 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Blaze of Glory© 2012 Jeff Shaara464 pages Come all you gallant soldiers, a story I will tell About the bloody battle on top of Shiloh’s hill It was an awful struggle; it’ll cause your heart to chill All from … Continue reading →

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A History of the World in Six Glasses

Posted on May 24, 2012 by smellincoffee

A History of the World in Six Glasses© 2006 Tom Standage311 pages A toast to human enterprise! Pick your poison — beer, wine, rum, tea, coffee, or Coca-Cola. Three are alcoholic, three are caffienated: all were the stuff of empires, … Continue reading →

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Founding Rivals

Posted on March 16, 2012 by smellincoffee

Founding Rivals | Madison vs. Monroe: the Bill of Rights and the Election that Saved a Nation© 2011 Chris DeRose336 pages In these days of contentious politics, where adversaries rip into one another with all the grace of beasts,  Chris … Continue reading →

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The Big Rock Candy Mountain

Posted on September 8, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Big Rock Candy Mountain© 1943 Wallace Stegner563 pages “The frontier is closed”, declared the US census board in 1890. The boundless west has been fenced in and taken, but Bo Mason isn’t satisfied to believe it. There must be opportunities … Continue reading →

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Redcoat

Posted on January 17, 2011 by smellincoffee

Redcoat© 1998 Bernard Cornwell485 pages Shortly after the capture of Philadelphia in September 1777, General George Washington led his Continental army in battle against the now-defending British army. In the chaos of his opening assault,  brothers Sam and Nate Gilpin … Continue reading →

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Over the Hills

Posted on December 31, 2010 by smellincoffee

Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle© 1996 David Lamb254 pages Despite a life of front-line journalism in Vietnam and Rwanda, LA Times journalist David Lamb feels as though his lifestyle has become positively sedentary as he … Continue reading →

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