Tag Archives: Austria

1913: A Year of Gossip

Posted on December 21, 2020 by smellincoffee

I reviewed this title on goodreads, I described it as “People magazine for prewar Germany & Austria, with Louis Armstrong and a stray Frenchman thrown in for good measure.” There’s no traditional narrative, more a long series of vignettes that … Continue reading →

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COVID Reviews #6 Cleaning Up with gangsters, Navajo, politicians, and so many Germans

Posted on October 20, 2020 by smellincoffee

Back in September and early October when I was under quarantine, I didn’t have computer access, so I couldn’t take many notes or write reviews when things were fresh on my mind. I tried to post comments intermittently, but some … Continue reading →

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COVID Reviews #2: Afghans and Turks and Austrians, oh my!

Posted on September 30, 2020 by smellincoffee

Khaled Hosseini’s third book is also his most unusual. His previous two books followed friendships which which were forged, broken, and tested over the years as Afghanistan reeled from one chaotic event to another. And the Mountains Echoed is more … Continue reading →

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The Age of Napoleon

Posted on August 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Age of Napoleon© 1975 will Durant870 pages Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me – or didn’t.  Will and Ariel Durant intended for Rousseau and Revolution to be the final volume in their epic … Continue reading →

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Rousseau and Revolution

Posted on August 2, 2017 by smellincoffee

Rousseau and Revolution© 1957 Will and Ariel Durant1092 pages “…little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor, and of … Continue reading →

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The Unknown War

Posted on October 25, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Unknown War© 1931 Winston Churchill396 pages The war to end all wars, what Sir Winston Churchill aptly described as the world crisis, began when a Serbian partisan assassinated the heir of Austria-Hungary’s throne, setting into motion a Rube Goldberg … Continue reading →

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Collision of Empires

Posted on September 20, 2014 by smellincoffee

Collision of Empires488 pages© 2014 Prit Buttar                   A quirk of the Great War is that its initial contestants usually cease to be subjects of interest to the historical imagination once Europe’s titans … Continue reading →

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The White War

Posted on May 15, 2014 by smellincoffee

 The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919©  Mark Thompson 488 pages By 1915, what began as a conflict between Austria and Serbia had broadened into the Great War, whose largest contenders were not parties to the … Continue reading →

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The Reformation

Posted on October 2, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Reformation: A history of European civilization from Wyclif to Calvin: 1300-1564© 1957 Will Durant1025 pages Although titled as a work of religious history, The Reformation is almost more a continuation of The Age of Faith in covering the final two … Continue reading →

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The Renaissance

Posted on September 12, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Renaissance:  A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304-1576 A.D.© 1953 Will Durant776 pages I assumed the Renaissance would be a high point of this series for me, second only to The Age of Reason. After a thousand years … Continue reading →

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