Tag Archives: Man vs State

Death and madness in China

Posted on February 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History© 2016 Frank Dikotter433 pages In twenty-five years of reading history, I know of no man who has instigated more human suffering and death at a broader scale than Mao Tse-tung, the rebel turned architect … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

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 →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

To Build a Castle

Posted on June 9, 2020 by smellincoffee

To Build a Castle: My Life as a Dissenter ©  1978 Vladimir Bukovsky 438 pages When frustrated Soviet officials asked Vlaldimir Bukovsky why he continued to provoke them, he replied that he doubted he could cause them nearly as much … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Smuggler Nation

Posted on June 4, 2020 by smellincoffee

Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America © 2014 Peter Andreas 472 pages “What can a Governor do, without the assistance of the Governed? What can the Magistrates do, unless they are supported by their fellow Citizens? What can the … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

We the Living

Posted on July 28, 2018 by smellincoffee

We the Living © 1936  Ayn Rand 528 pages   “I fear for your future, Kira,” said Victor. “It’s time to get reconciled to life. You won’t get far with those ideas of yours.” “That,” said Kira, “depends on what … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Atlas Shrugged

Posted on February 27, 2018 by smellincoffee

Atlas Shrugged© 1957 Ayn Rand1168 pages Sometimes the chains that bind us are made by our own hands.   Dagny Taggart knew as a young girl that she wanted to grow up to be the master of her family’s railroad system. … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Gulag Archipelago: Volume III

Posted on February 4, 2018 by smellincoffee

Archipeleg GULag / The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary InvestigationVolume III (of III)© 1973, 1974 Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn576 pages Throughout The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has taken readers on a tour of the Soviet concentration camps,  where human … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

German Resistance to Hitler

Posted on October 14, 2017 by smellincoffee

German Resistance to Hitler© 1988 Peter Hoffman188 pages Peter Hoffman’s research into the German resistance culminated in a 900-page History of the German Resistance 1933-1945, but this work – simply titled German Resistance to Hitler —  is a much smaller … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Gulag Archipelago, Volume I

Posted on August 12, 2017 by smellincoffee

Archipeleg GULag / The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary InvestigationVolume I (of III)© 1973, 1974 Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn660 pages Such was my desire to read The Gulag Archipelago that when I found it on the shelf and observed that it … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Tragedy of Liberation

Posted on August 10, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957 © 2013  Frank Dikotter 400 pages Readers who approach Frank Dikotter’s histories of Maoist China (The Tragedy of Liberation, Mao’s Great Famine, and The Cultural Revolution) should brace themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments