Tag Archives: business

The Secret Life of Groceries

Posted on January 31, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket © 2020 Benjamin Lorr336 pages The Secret Life of Groceries opens at a fish counter and invites the reader to consider how much labor, creativity, money, pain, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Of blowholes, blowhards, and blowing money

Posted on May 17, 2021 by smellincoffee

I’ve been studying for the CompTia A+ certification and entertaining a new lady friend in recent weeks, so my reading and reviewing has gotten a bit…torpid, shall we say. I haven’t been totally absorbed in specs and dates, though: Make … Continue reading →

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How to Run a Drug Cartel

Posted on June 11, 2020 by smellincoffee

Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel © 2016 Tom Wainright 288 pages I only know of one rule for the drug business, and that via Scarface: never get high on your own supply.  And as Manny could tell you, … Continue reading →

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Smuggler Nation

Posted on June 4, 2020 by smellincoffee

Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America © 2014 Peter Andreas 472 pages “What can a Governor do, without the assistance of the Governed? What can the Magistrates do, unless they are supported by their fellow Citizens? What can the … Continue reading →

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The Perfect Thing

Posted on December 12, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness pub. 2006 Steven Levy 304 pages I’ve never had an iPod, but given that Audible was doing a sale this week and that I seemed to be doing an … Continue reading →

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How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry

Posted on June 1, 2018 by smellincoffee

Gates: How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry-and Made Himself the Richest Man in America © 1994 Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews 560 pages   I recently watched Pirates of Silicon Valley, a questionably-acted movie based on the rise of  Bill … Continue reading →

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Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am

Posted on March 23, 2018 by smellincoffee

Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am© 2011 Robert Gandt351 pages How does a world-class airline fall so quickly from the heights that its pilots are accidentally locked in the building when it closes its doors for the last time, forced … Continue reading →

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Conquest of the Skies

Posted on November 7, 2017 by smellincoffee

Conquest of the Skies: A History of Commercial Aviation in America© 1979 Carl Solberg441 pages If ever you wanted a history of commercial aviation in the United States, Conquest of the Skies is it. Beginning with the origins of flight … Continue reading →

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The Elephant and the Dragon

Posted on May 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us© 2007  Robyn Meredith272 pages For most of the 20th century, Europe and the United States enjoyed an outsided influence on global … Continue reading →

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