Tag Archives: Bill Kauffman

With Good Intentions? The Myth of Progress

Posted on November 25, 2023 by smellincoffee

Wait, wait, wait. Before I comment on this book, I want to say first that patience is a virtue, and so is persistence. I stumbled on Bill Kauffman nine years ago, possibly via Front Porch Republic, and was immediately taken … Continue reading →

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Wisdom Wednesday: The Little Way

Posted on August 26, 2020 by smellincoffee

Inspired by recently reading The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, I’m sharing some related excerpts from one of my favorites, Bill Kauffman. ” [Walt Whitman] understood that any healthy political or social movement has to begin, has to have its … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette

Posted on October 25, 2018 by smellincoffee

Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette: A Mostly Affectionate Account of a Small Town’s Fight to Survive© 2003 Bill Kauffman206 pages Bill Kauffman, as a kid, went places. Starting from a little town in upstate New York, he journeyed as far … Continue reading →

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Poetry Night at the Ballpark

Posted on February 3, 2018 by smellincoffee

Poetry Night at the Ballpark and Other Scenes from an Alternative America © 2015 Bill Kauffman 442 pages  “Lift up your hearts, friends – America ain’t dead yet.”  For thirty years, Bill Kauffman has been blowing raspberries at or haranguing … Continue reading →

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Every Man a King

Posted on January 20, 2018 by smellincoffee

Every Man a King© 1989 Bill Kauffman277 pages Every Man is a King follows the self-destruction and resurrection of one John Huey Long, a rising star in DC’s intellectual establishment who disgraced himself in a heated television interview. Fired and … Continue reading →

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Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet

Posted on June 28, 2017 by smellincoffee

Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin© 2008 Bill Kauffman227 pages There isn’t enough whitewash in the world to create a Luther Martin hagiography, Bill Kauffman admits, but in the spirit of lost causes he does his best. Billed … Continue reading →

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Bye Bye Miss American Empire

Posted on December 10, 2016 by smellincoffee

Bye Bye Miss American Empire: Neighborhood Patriots, Backcountry Rebels, and Underdog Crusades to Redraw America’s Political Map© 2010 Bill Kauffman You say you want a devolution? \ Far beyond the city across the river, this country is pregnant with happy … Continue reading →

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America First

Posted on September 21, 2016 by smellincoffee

America First: Its History, Culture, and Politics© 1995 Bill Kauffman296 pages For slightly over a year prior to the attack at Pearl Harbor, there existed a civic organization of nearly a million people called the America First Committee. It dedicated … Continue reading →

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Words from little America

Posted on September 18, 2016 by smellincoffee

“There are many, many Americas — there’s a televised America, one that consists of The View and Katie Couric and Jenner — there’s that America. But then there’s the America I experience, the America you never see on television. It’s … Continue reading →

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This Just In

Posted on February 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

During the weekend I said in comments here that I would love to see a book about spontaneous or emergent order that crossed disciplines. Well, by golly, now there is one — and it’s by Matt Ridley, who penned The … Continue reading →

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