Tag Archives: history

This Week at the Library (6/5)

Posted on May 5, 2010 by smellincoffee

Once more, I have kept my head above the water and am finished with term papers and finals for this semester. I had the good luck to do research on topics I enjoyed (history of science, the Great War, and … Continue reading →

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1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

Posted on April 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus© 2005 Charles C. Mann465 pages 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus is an ambitious book that attempts to rout a host of assumptions about the land and people of the … Continue reading →

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Joan of Arc: the Legend and the Reality

Posted on March 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Joan of Arc: the Legend and the Reality© 1959 Frances Gies306 pages Few historical characters, and no women, are more famous than Joan of Arc. Her name and story are known throughout the world. In the Middle Ages there were … Continue reading →

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The Geography of Nowhere

Posted on February 24, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Geography of Nowhere: the Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape© 1993 James Howard Kunstler303 pages Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same There’s a green one, … Continue reading →

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Stories Behind Words

Posted on February 23, 2010 by smellincoffee

Stories Behind Words: The Origins and Histories of 285 English Words© 1986 Peter Limburg288 pages I have long held an interest in etymology and the history of language, thus this book’s interest to me.  Author Peter Limburg expounds upon the … Continue reading →

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A Power Governments Cannot Suppress

Posted on February 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress © 2007 Howard Zinn 293 pages This year I have become convincted that democracy is not something that happens at the ballot-box but on the streets. It consists in mass movements forcing the institutions that … Continue reading →

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Storm of Steel

Posted on February 8, 2010 by smellincoffee

Storm of Steel © 1921 Ernst Jünger 319 pages Storm of Steel is the oddest war memoir I have ever read. I’ve read a few of them in hopes of understanding various motivations for young men marching off to war, … Continue reading →

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The Gangs of New York

Posted on January 2, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Gangs of New York© 1927 Herbert Ashbury368 pages A few weeks ago I opted to read Herbert Ashbury’s Gangs of New York to see what his writing style might be like. I have a strong interest in city life … Continue reading →

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China Marine

Posted on December 29, 2009 by smellincoffee

China Marine: An Infantryman’s Life after World War 2© Eugene Sledge 2003192 pages Last week I read Eugene Sledge’s With the Old Breed, a memoir of his experiences in the Pacific War. The memoir ranks as one of the most … Continue reading →

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Black Edelweiss

Posted on December 19, 2009 by smellincoffee

Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience By a Soldier of the Waffen-SS© 2002 Johann Voss206 pages As the last coach slid by, it cleared the view of another train, a goods train as it appeared, slowly passing by … Continue reading →

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