Tag Archives: journalism

Stories, southern and otherwise

Posted on November 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

Rick Bragg is one of those authors I gave a shot simply because people around me wouldn’t shut up about him. It’s easy to understand why, after only a page or two;  he has a gift for storytelling, one he … Continue reading →

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Slanted

Posted on February 25, 2022 by smellincoffee

Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism© 2020 Sharyl Attkisson316 pages I stopped watching television news in 2009, a decision made for me by the overnight obsolescence of my TV set when the industry … Continue reading →

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The Secret Life of Groceries

Posted on January 31, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket © 2020 Benjamin Lorr336 pages The Secret Life of Groceries opens at a fish counter and invites the reader to consider how much labor, creativity, money, pain, and … Continue reading →

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Christmas Tales and Counting Buzzards

Posted on December 9, 2020 by smellincoffee

Christmas Tales collects various human interest stories around the State of Alabama that have a Christmas connection — though perhaps human interest isn’t the right word, seeing as many of these stories involve animals! The stories were collected by a … Continue reading →

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The Beast

Posted on April 7, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail © 2014 224 pages This is the third of three reviews I needed to publish before the English material can roll. And now, Rule Britannia! The news cycle … Continue reading →

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Gun Guys

Posted on October 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

Gun Guys: A Road Trip © 2013 Dan Baum 353 pages     Why do Americans love guns so much?  Dan Baum knew why he loved them. He was the skinny misfit who was mocked and left behind at summer … Continue reading →

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Odd Egg Editor

Posted on January 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

Odd-Egg Editor © 1990 Kathryn Tucker Windham 170 pages Anyone who grew up in Selma, Alabama, prior to 2011 had heard of Kathryn Tucker Windham, and odds were they cherished her.  A master storyteller, she inspired an annual Tale-Tellin’ Festival … Continue reading →

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A Nation Challenged

Posted on September 23, 2018 by smellincoffee

A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and Its Aftermath© 2002 The New York Times240 pages The first few anniversaries of 9/11 had a weight as they approached — not only for what memories they evoked, but for the … Continue reading →

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Columbine

Posted on November 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

Columbine© 2009 Dave Cullen417 pages Columbine. I remember it, of course.  I was in eighth grade when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold turned their high school into a bloody spectacle. That day on April 20th, 1999, is always referred to … Continue reading →

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Lights Out

Posted on June 13, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lights Out: A Cyberattack, a Nation Unprepared© 2015 Ted Koppell288 pages In Lights Out,  investigatory journalist Ted Koppel comments on the vulnerability of the United States’ power grid to a cyber attack,  and reviews the way government agencies, private citizens, … Continue reading →

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