Tag Archives: essays

Present Concerns and even more Lewis quotes

Posted on December 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Although Present Concerns’ title makes it sound as though it consists of essays by Lewis written about 1940s issues,   the contents still speak to our present day.  One of the passages, quoted to me from a friend, leapt out … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Selections from “A Grief Observed”

Posted on November 21, 2020 by smellincoffee

A Grief Observed was not written as a book, but was published as such from four reflective notebooks that Lewis kept while reeling from the death of his wife, Joy. The collection is raw, intimate, and personal; we find Lewis … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Resist Much, Obey Little

Posted on September 14, 2020 by smellincoffee

Resist Much, Obey Little: Remembering Ed Abbey© 1996 James Hepworth & Gregory McNamee254 pages To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States, Resist much, obey little,Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved,Once fully enslaved, no … Continue reading →

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

The Left, The Right, and The State

Posted on August 11, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Left, The Right, and the State © 2009 Lew Rockwell 556 pages “Society is held together not by a state but by the cooperative daily actions of its members.” Who’s up for six hundred pages of essays on politics … Continue reading →

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

The Federalist Papers

Posted on September 24, 2019 by smellincoffee

  “It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Poetry Night at the Ballpark

Posted on February 3, 2018 by smellincoffee

Poetry Night at the Ballpark and Other Scenes from an Alternative America © 2015 Bill Kauffman 442 pages  “Lift up your hearts, friends – America ain’t dead yet.”  For thirty years, Bill Kauffman has been blowing raspberries at or haranguing … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Devil’s Chaplain

Posted on September 6, 2017 by smellincoffee

A Devil’s Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love© 2003 Richard Dawkins263 pages Charles Darwin mused that a devil’s chaplain might write quite a book on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering low, and horridly cruel works of nature.  A Devil’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

From Narnia to a Space Odyssey

Posted on April 29, 2017 by smellincoffee

From Narnia to a Space Odyssey: The War of Ideas between Arthur C. Clarke and C.S. Lewis ed. Ryder Miller © 2003 175 pages First of all, reader, understand that the title of this book is overstated. It is not … Continue reading →

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

The Journey Home

Posted on July 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Journey Home: Some Words in Defense of the American West© 1977 Edward Abbey242 pages The desert is no place for decent men, which is why Edward Abbey likes it so much. Born on the eastern seaboard,  on a farm … Continue reading →

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

The Wild Weird World of Biology

Posted on February 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

So, it turns out The Lives of a Cell has little to do with cells.  I checked it out figuring to learn something about how cells work, since I’m a ways removed from fifth-grade life science, or even freshman bio.  I … Continue reading →

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