Tag Archives: American West

Off the Grid

Posted on May 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

Off the Grid:  Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America© 2010 Nick Rosen292 pages When Nick Rosen put up a website to help his fellow Britons find resources and land reduce their carbon … Continue reading →

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Adieu to you, and you and you and you —

Posted on January 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

As 2015 was ending I finished up a couple of works which merit mentioning. Firstly is Jane Austen’s Emma.  I have read Austen before (Pride and Prejudice), intrigued by mention of Darcy as a model gentleman,  Emma was thus my … Continue reading →

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Horse

Posted on December 8, 2015 by smellincoffee

Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Human Civilization© 2006 J. Edward Chamberlin288 pages How do I love thee, O horse? Let me count the ways.   J. Edward Chamberlin’s Horse begins with one lonely native American mare separated from her tribe … Continue reading →

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That Was Then, This is Now

Posted on November 13, 2015 by smellincoffee

That Was Then, This is Now© 1971160 pages Mark and Byron were more than best friends; they were brothers. They grew up half-feral, raised by a struggling mom and struck by violence at an early age. Their fond childhood memories … Continue reading →

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The Scarlet Letter

Posted on June 28, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Scarlet Letter ©  1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne 180 pages                    In 18thcentury Boston, a young woman stands upon the gallows in the center of town, facing down the contempt of the assembled mob. Having broken the … Continue reading →

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Little House on the Prairie

Posted on December 17, 2013 by smellincoffee

© 1933 Laura Ingalls Wilder I would say that Little House on the Prairie brings back fond memories, but in truth the volume I remember so happily was Little House in the  Big Woods, which recounts author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s accounts of growing … Continue reading →

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Down the River

Posted on December 4, 2013 by smellincoffee

Down the River© 1982 Edward Abbey In Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey collected contemplative pieces he had written while a park ranger in the high desert, putting his passion for the wilderness into action by working to conserve it. The volume … Continue reading →

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Desert Solitaire

Posted on February 10, 2012 by smellincoffee

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness© 1968 Edward Abbey269 pages Journey to the expansive southwestern American desert and take it in — the vast stretches of open ground, bounded by mountains and broken by marvelously intriguing rock formations that … 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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