Tag Archives: Cold war

John F. Kennedy

Posted on June 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Despite only serving most of two years, JFK has loomed large in the memories of Americans, and his brutal assassination has much to do with that. His presidency was potential cut short; hope, aborted. In John F. Kennedy, Brinkley writes: … Continue reading →

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Thirteen Days

Posted on June 26, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest time the Cold War came to turning into a hot war, and (presumably) a global holocaust. RFK served the President most immediately not as his attorney general, but his confidant and advisor. Thirteen … Continue reading →

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The Lettahs of JFK

Posted on June 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

Having finished listening to George H.W. Bush’s family read his personal letters and diary entries across fifty years in All the Best,  I could not very well refrain from the temptation of reading JFK’s letters.  The Letters of JFK, however, … Continue reading →

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Being Nixon

Posted on May 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Last year I nearly did a deep dive into all things Nixon: exactly a year later,  he beckoned me to follow him, and this time I did.  What is it about Nixon?  One book I’ve read recently, and I can’t … Continue reading →

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Ike and Dick

Posted on May 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

I increasingly find Richard Nixon a fascinating personality, and stumbled onto this while looking for Nixon books: I’ve been reading it along with Being Nixon the last week or so. Ike and Dick focuses on the relationship between these two … Continue reading →

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The Shadow of War

Posted on May 22, 2024 by smellincoffee

JFK’s presidency is off to a… start. Dismissed as a greenhorn who has no idea what he’s up to, he’s just had to eat crow on the national stage after admitting to the fiasco that was the Bay of Pigs … Continue reading →

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Nixon’s pyramid, the future, and intelligent octopus arms

Posted on October 12, 2022 by smellincoffee

At some point in the last year a book tipped me off to Tom Vanderbilt’s Survival City, in which the author tours ruins and remains of DC’s vast Cold War infrastructure while providing a history of the way popular fears … Continue reading →

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