Tag Archives: biography

Martin Van Buren

Posted on December 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

Who is Martin Van Buren? When I cast the name into the pool of my imagination, I can see his face reflected there, framed by wild sideburns and seeded by a guide to the US Presidents I read cover to … Continue reading →

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Man of Iron

Posted on December 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

Grover Cleveland may have lost his claim to fame in being the only president to be elected to two nonconsecutive terms, but he is nevertheless a striking and memorable figure. Hailed as ‘the last Jeffersonian’  by another biography,  his two … Continue reading →

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The Last Jeffersonian

Posted on October 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

My political biography began during the War on Terror, when I developed strong feelings about foreign intervention and the military-police surveillance state.   While reading Howard Zinn in my college years, I was astonished and delighted to learn of a … Continue reading →

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Gandolfini

Posted on August 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

Like many, I was awed by James Gandolfini’s performance throughout The Sopranos,  which made him an actor whose presence guarantees I’ll watch any movie he’s in. Gandolfini is a professional biography of an actor whose charisma and commitment to his … Continue reading →

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Of Ben Franklin and Andy Jackson’s America

Posted on August 14, 2025 by smellincoffee

For whatever reason I’ve been struggling to find inspiration or motivation to review two history books I’ve read in the last month or so, and since they’re similar — early American history — I’m going to regretfully short-round them. Most … Continue reading →

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The Fighting Little Judge

Posted on July 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

Back in 2016, I played with the idea of reading biographies of various populists, for obvious reasons. William Jennings Bryant, Huey Long, and George C. Wallace were the three figures who leapt most to mind. Although George C. Wallace is … Continue reading →

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Friends Divided

Posted on July 9, 2025 by smellincoffee

When I first read Gordon S. Wood, his Revolutionary Characters annoyed me in its short shrift given John Adams. Adams was one of the earliest voices inveighing against Parliament’s abuses of the American colonies, and I was flabbergasted that he … Continue reading →

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Ty Cobb

Posted on May 7, 2025 by smellincoffee

I’ve known the name Ty Cobb since I was a kid: baseball is an anomaly in that it’s the only sport I’ve ever cared enough to read about,  both as a boy and now in my dotage. I encountered Cobb … Continue reading →

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Selma’s Mayor

Posted on April 29, 2025 by smellincoffee

Like most, if not all, Selmians, I was surprised and saddened by the sudden death of former Mayor George Evans. The mayor had been a figure in my life since I was a child, as he was the school superintendent … Continue reading →

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And God Came In

Posted on September 25, 2024 by smellincoffee

A friend lent this to me, knowing of my love of all things C.S. Lewis. It’s a biography of Joy Davidman, a Jewish-American convert to Christianity who befriended Lewis over letters, then later moved to England and became his great … Continue reading →

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