Tag Archives: Britain

Surprised by Joy

Posted on March 20, 2017 by smellincoffee

Surprised by Joy© 1955 C.S. Lewis252 pages “When I first read Chesterton, I did not know what I was in for. God is, if I may say it,  quite unscrupulous.” Mention the name C.S. Lewis and the image of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A History of Saint Augustine, Florida

Posted on March 2, 2017 by smellincoffee

A History of Saint Augustine, Florida© 1881 William Dewhurst196 pages St. Augustine is the oldest European city in North America, founded by the Spanish in 1565.  Sitting at the mouth of the St. John river in northern Florida, it originally … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

Posted on January 5, 2017 by smellincoffee

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves© 1963 P.G. Wodehouse227 pages As had so often happened before, I felt that my only course was to place myself in the hands of a higher power. “Sir?” [Jeeves] said, manifesting himself. Bertie Wooster has two … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Danger Heavy Goods

Posted on December 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Danger Heavy Goods: Driving the Toughest, Most Dangerous Roads in the WorldAlso known as: Juggernaut: Trucking to Saudi Arabia© 1988 Robert Hutchinson288 pages “Makes Smokey and the Bandit Look Like Smokey and the Boy Scouts” When is a lorry not … Continue reading →

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

The Flame Bearer

Posted on December 3, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Flame Bearer© 2016  Bernard Cornwell304 pages The Scots were my enemies. The West Saxons were my enemies. Bebbanburg’s garrison was my enemy. Ieremias was my enemy. Einar the White was my enemy. So fate had better be my friend. … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Truck This For A Living

Posted on November 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

Truck This for a Living: Tales of a UK Lorry Driver© 2014  Gary Mottram226 pages After hand-manufacturing woodwind instruments for thirteen years, Gary Mottram was laid off. So naturally, he took up driving. Working through a temp agency, he delivered … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Katherine of Aragon

Posted on October 12, 2016 by smellincoffee

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen© 2016 Alison Weir624 pages Mention the Tudor court, and invariably people think of Henry VIII and his famed mistress, Anne Boleyn. But the wife Henry abandoned came from a far more interesting family. Catherine … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Turbulent Skies

Posted on September 18, 2016 by smellincoffee

Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation© 1995 T. H. Heppenheimer408 pages What a century was the 20th, which turned everyday life into the stuff of yesteryear’s science fiction. Who would believe at its dawning that one day people would … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How the Scots Invented the Modern World

Posted on September 10, 2016 by smellincoffee

How the Scots Invented the Modern World:The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It © 2001  Arthur Herman400 pages An elderly patron at the library has adopted me as his go-to source for … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Our America

Posted on July 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States© 2014  Felipe Fernández-Armesto416 pages Spain disappears from American history books following the Spanish-American war, in which the tired old empire was given a sound thrashing and retreated from the hemisphere, but Spanish … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment