Tag Archives: Classics and Literary

The Vikings

Posted on June 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Vikings: A History© 2010 Robert Ferguson464 pagesUK title: The Hammer and the Cross: A History of the Vikings             VIKINGS!  For students of western civilization, the word has quite the mystique. Invaders from the frozen … Continue reading →

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Posted on June 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow© 1820 Washington Iriving; illustrations 1966, Leonard Fisher58 pages Long ago in a quiet part of the north country near Hudson Bay lived a superstitious and gangly schoolteacher whose amorous affections for a local heiress threw … Continue reading →

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Away Down South

Posted on May 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity © 2007 James C. Cobb 416 pages             What does it mean to be southern, beyond a fondness for turnip greens and cornbread?  The answer is an evolving one, as the South’s … Continue reading →

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Who Killed Homer?

Posted on May 29, 2014 by smellincoffee

Who Killed Homer? The Demise of Classical Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom© 1998 Victor Davis Hanson290 pages For hundreds of years, the study of the classics was at the heart of a liberal education, thought essential to the … Continue reading →

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Look Homeward, America!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Porch Anarchists© 2006 Bill Kauffman250 pages “The Little Way. That is what we seek. That — contrary to the ethic of personal parking spaces, of the dollar-sign god — is the … Continue reading →

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What’s Wrong with the World

Posted on February 20, 2014 by smellincoffee

What’s Wrong with the World© 1910 G. K. Chesterton200 pages What’s wrong with the world? Too many people are proposing answers to the wrong questions.  What’s Wrong is a curious collection of thoughts, voiced at the turn of the 20thcentury, … Continue reading →

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Martin Eden

Posted on November 21, 2013 by smellincoffee

Martin Eden© 1908 Jack London381 pages For its first two thirds, Martin Eden is a uplifting tale of art and romance about a man of humble means who hauls himself up to a better station in life in pursuit of a … Continue reading →

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Misquoting Jesus

Posted on October 18, 2013 by smellincoffee

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why© 2005 Bart Ehrman256 pages Contrary to popular belief, the King James Bible did not fall out of the sky, a gift from a loving deity to his people below. … Continue reading →

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A Journey to the Center of the Earth

Posted on February 5, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Journey to the Center of the Earth© 1864 Jules Verne291 pages “Is the Master out of his mind?” she asked me.I nodded.“And he’s taking you with him?”I nodded again.“Where?” she asked.I pointed towards the center of the Earth.“Into the … Continue reading →

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Posted on October 16, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesSir Arthur Conan DoyleIllustrations by Richard LebensonAfterword by Fred Strebeigh© 1987, The Reader’s Digest Association. ‎”You? Who are you? How could you know anything about the matter?” “My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business … Continue reading →

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