Tag Archives: Nature

One Life at a Time, Please

Posted on January 18, 2023 by smellincoffee

One Life at a Time, Please© 1988 Ed Abbey204 pages Ed Abbey’s final few years were spent in obsessive work, as he knew he was dying and wanted to make provisions for his family.  The Fool’s Progress and One Life … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Alabama’s Amazon

Posted on September 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Saving America’s Amazon: Our Most Biodiverse River System is Under Siege© 2020 Ben Raines200 pages The Mobile river delta is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, but few know and still fewer appreciate this: for thousands of … Continue reading →

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

A Furious Sky

Posted on November 17, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Furious Sky: The Five Hundred Year History of America’s Hurricanes© 2020 Eric Jay Dolin415 pages A Furious Sky is a history of hurricanes in American history, opening with Columbus’ attempts to warn a rival governor of imminent danger and … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Of Mars, Antarctica, and the human condition

Posted on August 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

Mars is a cold tease, an object of immediate interest to anyone who believes humanity needs to continue to venture outward.  It’s neither so hostile or so far from us to preclude manned missions entirely,  and it has its own resources that … Continue reading →

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

The Old Man and the Boy

Posted on January 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Old Man and the Boy© 1957 Robert Ruark303 pages Of the various titles on my Classics Club Strikes back list, The Old Man and the Boy is something of an outlier; I’d venture to say that most people haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

You are not so smart, and animals are not so dumb: a science twofer

Posted on December 10, 2020 by smellincoffee

Last week I read You Are Not So Smart, an often interesting if sometimes trivial review of how mental shortcuts get us in trouble. My reading of Suspicious Minds led into this, and they shared some common ground. The shortcuts … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Selections from “Becoming Wild”

Posted on September 16, 2020 by smellincoffee

“Until now, culture has remained a largely hidden, unappreciated layer of wild lives. Yet for many species, culture is both crucial and fragile. Long before a population declines to numbers low enough to seem threatened with extinction, their special cultural … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations, science | Tagged | Leave a comment

Resist Much, Obey Little

Posted on September 14, 2020 by smellincoffee

Resist Much, Obey Little: Remembering Ed Abbey© 1996 James Hepworth & Gregory McNamee254 pages To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States, Resist much, obey little,Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved,Once fully enslaved, no … Continue reading →

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

Aerial Geology

Posted on June 26, 2020 by smellincoffee

Aerial Geology: A High Altitude Tour of North America’s Spectacular Volcanoes, Canyons, Glaciers, Lakes, Craters, and Peaks © 2017 Mary Caperton Morton 308 pages   It was love at first sight, me and this book. There  I was, cruising BooksAMillion … Continue reading →

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

The Thing with the Feathers

Posted on May 28, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Thing with Feathers: The Surprising Lvies of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human © 2015  Noah Strycker 304 pages One of the blessings of living in a semi-rural area like myself is the daily sightings of birds … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science | Tagged , , | 2 Comments