Tag Archives: law and disorder

Fresh Air with Terry Grosz

Posted on November 21, 2025 by smellincoffee

When it’s time for me to do my annual writeup in a month or so, I will have to mention the Black Swan event that was game warden-oriented books suddenly exploding onto the scene, bursting out of nowhere like a … Continue reading →

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Backcountry Lawman

Posted on September 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

Readers may remember that earlier this year I fell into CJ Box’s game warden novels starring Joe Pickett with the eagerness of a winter traveler who finds a cabin laden with quilts and fresh chili. I subsequently found Paul Doiron’s … Continue reading →

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Riding with Evil

Posted on September 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

Ken Croke spent two years living a double life, one in which the ATF agent’s suburbanite existence was increasingly overshadowed by his second life as a sergeant in arms for the notorious PAGANS motorcycle club. The story unfolds in the … Continue reading →

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Waco: A Survivor’s Story

Posted on July 8, 2020 by smellincoffee

A Place Called Waco: A Survivor’s Story © 1999 David Thibodeau 381 pages On April 19th, 1993, the arrogance of power was made obvious when scores of people were killed in a outstandingly incompetent, if not deliberately malicious, attempt to … Continue reading →

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Ruby Ridge

Posted on June 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Every Knee Shall Bow / Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family © 1995, 2002  Jess Walter 416 pages “[….] people ought not to be murdered by their own government.” The inherent brutality of the police … Continue reading →

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You Have the Right to Remain Innocent

Posted on December 23, 2016 by smellincoffee

You Have the Right to Remain Innocent © 2016 James Duane 152 pages “One of the Fifth amendment’s basic functions is to protect innocent men who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances.” (Ohio v. Reiner) “People are inherently honest, … Continue reading →

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Data and Goliath

Posted on January 20, 2016 by smellincoffee

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World© 2015 Bruce Schneier400 pages, including 160 pgs of citations. You’re being watched — all the time, no matter where you go or what you do. Not … Continue reading →

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Rogue Lawyer

Posted on December 26, 2015 by smellincoffee

Rogue Lawyer© 2015 John Grisham344 pages (“Wait for 2016”, I said.  What can I say?) Rogue Lawyer ranks with The Appeal as one of John Grisham’s most cynical and bitter pieces of fiction. Its lead character, Sebastian Rudd, is vaguely reminiscent of … Continue reading →

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Last Call

Posted on July 1, 2015 by smellincoffee

Last Call: the Rise and Fall of Prohibition © 2010 Daniel Okrent 480 pages “Law and order should not ruin the lives of law-abidin’ people! Like that stupid law of Prohibition they had in the old days. Gangsters had to go … Continue reading →

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The Ashes of Waco

Posted on June 12, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation© 1995 Dick Reavis320 pages What happened at Waco?  Dick Reavis had an itch to find out, and since no one else at his alternative newspaper was curious, he volunteered as man on the ground … Continue reading →

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