Tag Archives: American West

The Moon is Down | The Pearl | The Red Pony

Posted on September 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Yesterday I made the mistake of having a sinus headache, and in our Brave New World of Perpetual Hypochondria, I was ordered to the doctor’s office to have my nose jabbed in search of the dreaded Beer Bug. To no … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The Lost Outlaw

Posted on August 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Lost Outlaw © 2019 Paul Fraser Collard361 pages For the better part of a year, Jack Lark has been drifting across the war-worn South, working small jobs as he needs and generally avoiding society. For most of his adult … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Cities of Gold

Posted on August 3, 2017 by smellincoffee

Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Pursuit of Coronado© 1992 Douglas Preston (Walter Nelson, Photographs)480 pages Sometimes, history has got to be pursued from the back of a horse.  Douglas Preston wasn’t sure what took him … Continue reading →

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The Mexican Frontier

Posted on July 27, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Mexican Frontier 1821 – 1846: The American Southwest Under Mexico©  1982 David Weber (University of New Mexico Press)440 pages In 1821, the people of Mexico declared their independence from Spain, recognizing that its Napoleonic straits meant that the mother … Continue reading →

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East of Eden

Posted on July 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

East of Eden© 1952 John Steinbeck580 pages Why did Cain kill Abel?  East of Eden explores that question via a family saga, one that stretches across North America, spanning the continent as well as the generations;  a story that begins at … Continue reading →

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Spain in the Southwest

Posted on May 5, 2017 by smellincoffee

Spain in the Southwest: A Narrative History© 2013 John Kessell480 In the early 1500s, the Spanish triumphed over the Aztecs and established a new Spain — an empire forged out of the new world.  The equatorial tropics were only the … Continue reading →

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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 →

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The Brave Cowboy

Posted on October 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Brave Cowboy: An Old Tale in a New Time©  1956 Edward Abbey277 pages “Where’re your papers?” “My what?” “Your I.D. — draft card, social security, driver’s license.” “Don’t have none. Don’t need none. I already know who I am.” … Continue reading →

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West of the Revolution

Posted on October 20, 2016 by smellincoffee

West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776© 2015 Claudio Saunt288 pages In 1776, the bid of thirteen colonies for independence wasn’t the only interesting goings-on in North America.  From Alaska to Cuba, colonial and native powers were fighting, … Continue reading →

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The Spanish Frontier in North America

Posted on July 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Spanish Frontier in North America© 1992 David J. Weber602 pages Although American history books will generally mention the early exploration of North America by figures like de Soto,  little attention on the whole is given to the Spanish colonial … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments