Tag Archives: literature

The Odyssey

Posted on June 19, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Odyssey© 1884 trans. George Herbert Palmer, original author Homer313 pages Three years ago I read The Illiad, and intended to follow it shortly with The Odyssey. Like Odysseus, however, my own attention was blown of course. This is course a classic, … Continue reading →

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The Vikings

Posted on June 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Vikings: A History© 2010 Robert Ferguson464 pagesUK title: The Hammer and the Cross: A History of the Vikings             VIKINGS!  For students of western civilization, the word has quite the mystique. Invaders from the frozen … Continue reading →

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Posted on June 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow© 1820 Washington Iriving; illustrations 1966, Leonard Fisher58 pages Long ago in a quiet part of the north country near Hudson Bay lived a superstitious and gangly schoolteacher whose amorous affections for a local heiress threw … Continue reading →

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Away Down South

Posted on May 31, 2014 by smellincoffee

Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity © 2007 James C. Cobb 416 pages             What does it mean to be southern, beyond a fondness for turnip greens and cornbread?  The answer is an evolving one, as the South’s … Continue reading →

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Who Killed Homer?

Posted on May 29, 2014 by smellincoffee

Who Killed Homer? The Demise of Classical Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom© 1998 Victor Davis Hanson290 pages For hundreds of years, the study of the classics was at the heart of a liberal education, thought essential to the … Continue reading →

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Look Homeward, America!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Look Homeward, America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Porch Anarchists© 2006 Bill Kauffman250 pages “The Little Way. That is what we seek. That — contrary to the ethic of personal parking spaces, of the dollar-sign god — is the … Continue reading →

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Martin Eden

Posted on November 21, 2013 by smellincoffee

Martin Eden© 1908 Jack London381 pages For its first two thirds, Martin Eden is a uplifting tale of art and romance about a man of humble means who hauls himself up to a better station in life in pursuit of a … Continue reading →

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Misquoting Jesus

Posted on October 18, 2013 by smellincoffee

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why© 2005 Bart Ehrman256 pages Contrary to popular belief, the King James Bible did not fall out of the sky, a gift from a loving deity to his people below. … Continue reading →

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