Tag Archives: France

Napoleon: Life and Legacy

Posted on October 22, 2020 by smellincoffee

Napoleon: Life and Legacy© 2011 Alan Forrest403 pages Napoleon is an unavoidable figure of European history, and enjoys no shortage of admirers even today. For years he dominated a continent, using native talents given abundant opportunities opened by the revolution … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Short rounds: Star Trek and Musketeers

Posted on July 23, 2019 by smellincoffee

It’s been open season on the classics this month: not only did I finish up June ( and take care of July, but I’ve recently advanced into August’s reading, defeating The Three Musketeers, and am about to mount an attack … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Down and Out in Paris and London

Posted on December 7, 2017 by smellincoffee

Down and Out in Paris and London© 1933 George Orwell224 pages “Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge. “Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Age of Napoleon

Posted on August 17, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Age of Napoleon© 1975 will Durant870 pages Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me – or didn’t.  Will and Ariel Durant intended for Rousseau and Revolution to be the final volume in their epic … Continue reading →

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

Rousseau and Revolution

Posted on August 2, 2017 by smellincoffee

Rousseau and Revolution© 1957 Will and Ariel Durant1092 pages “…little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor, and of … Continue reading →

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

Florida Under Five Flags

Posted on March 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

Florida Under Five Flags© 1945 Rembert Patrick160 pages Note: I read from the 1st edition. This cover is from the 5th edition,  which has been updated and presumably revised. The State of Florida entered the Union in 1845; in 1945, … Continue reading →

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

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

Blitzkrieg

Posted on November 21, 2015 by smellincoffee

Blitzkrieg© 1979 Robert Warnick200 pages As much as I’d hoped to read Len Deighton’s Blitzkrieg, it’s weeks overdue at the library and I’m ready to close out the first stage of this WW2 reading set.  This volume of the Time-Life … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Miracle of Dunkirk

Posted on October 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Miracle of Dunkirk© 1982 Walter Lord323 pages In September 1939, British troops arrived in Europe to defend France against a rapidly expansionistic Nazi regime.  Germany’s leader of six years, Adolf Hitler, had already annexed Austria and Czechslovakia, and following … Continue reading →

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

Saint Joan

Posted on September 28, 2015 by smellincoffee

Saint Joan© 1924 George Bernard Shaw160 pages              In the darkest hour of the Hundred Years War, a teenage girl re-inspired both a defeated nation and a despondent king to fight again for what was … Continue reading →

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