Tag Archives: history

The Burning Blue

Posted on July 14, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA’s Challenger Disaster(c) 2021 Kevin Cook288 pages So fickle is the human mind that even Apollo could not keep the public terribly excited for very long after the first moon … Continue reading →

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Bringing Columbia Home

Posted on July 13, 2022 by smellincoffee

Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Shuttle and Her Crew(c) 2018 Michael Leinbach and Johnthan Ward400 pages On February 1st, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the skies above Texas and Louisiana, some sixteen minutes from … Continue reading →

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Two for forensics

Posted on June 30, 2022 by smellincoffee

Readers of Sherlock Holmes may remember that fictional character had such a command of diverse sciences and skills that his assistant Watson was impelled to innumerate them. American Sherlock introduces readers to the life of Edward Oscar Heinrich, a real-life … Continue reading →

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Of kidneys, the Lionheart, and Star Trek

Posted on June 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

Ever since my kidney transplant Tuesday, I’ve seen doctors, surgeons, and nurses on a daily basis with updates. They’re all very pleased about the progress I’m making toward recovery: my new kidneys (I received two, from a deceased juvenile) are … Continue reading →

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Dogfight

Posted on May 20, 2022 by smellincoffee

Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution© 2013 Fred Vogelstein272 pages Fifteen years ago, Apple inaugurated a technical and social revolution when it released the first iPhone.  It did so in close partnership with Google, … Continue reading →

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Churchill’s Band of Brothers

Posted on April 14, 2022 by smellincoffee

Band of Brothers: WW2’s Most Daring D-Day Mission and the Hunt to Take Down Hitler’s War Criminals© 2021 Damien Lewis400 pages A few months back, I read D-Day Girls, a history of SOE operatives who prepared the way for Operation … Continue reading →

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On horses, septic tanks, and roving Spainards

Posted on January 14, 2022 by smellincoffee

I began the year by returning to a favorite subject of mine: horses! The Equine Legacy is a history of not only horses in America, but donkeys and mules, from the Age of Discovery to just after the Great War. … Continue reading →

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A Furious Sky

Posted on November 17, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Furious Sky: The Five Hundred Year History of America’s Hurricanes© 2020 Eric Jay Dolin415 pages A Furious Sky is a history of hurricanes in American history, opening with Columbus’ attempts to warn a rival governor of imminent danger and … Continue reading →

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Jacked!

Posted on November 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

Jacked! The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto© 2012 David Kushner301 pages Twenty years ago, Grand Theft Auto III released in the United States, to popular and later critical acclaim.  The GTA series had already established a name for itself … Continue reading →

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Enough Already

Posted on November 10, 2021 by smellincoffee

Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism© 2021 Scott Horton330 pages The war on terror has consumed American resources and human lives for well over twenty years now,  breaking numerous countries, deforming the United States at multiple levels, and perpetuating … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments