Tag Archives: Politics-CivicInterest

Selma 1965

Posted on March 18, 2015 by smellincoffee

Selma 1965: the March that Changed the South© 1974, 1985, 2015 Chuck Fager257 pages (2nd edition), Last weekend, my hometown suddenly became host to two presidents, a hundred members of Congress, and enough people to see it swell over ten times … Continue reading →

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The Iron Web

Posted on March 14, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Iron Web© 2009 Larken Rose363 pages         All Jessica wanted to do to celebrate her 19th birthday was go camping and test out her skills navigating with a GPS. At no point during the celebration did … Continue reading →

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I Am Malala

Posted on February 17, 2015 by smellincoffee

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World© 2014 Malala Yousafzai240 pages      In 2012, Islamic fundamentalists shot a girl in the face for refusing to be cowed by their forceful attempt to impose … Continue reading →

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Green is the New Red

Posted on February 6, 2015 by smellincoffee

Green is the New Red: An Insider’s Account of a Social Movement Under Siege© 2011 Will Potter256 pages Is passing out flyers the moral equivalent of flying a plane into a skyscraper and killing thousands of people?  Well, in some … Continue reading →

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Nullification

Posted on January 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century© 2011 Thomas E. Woods, Jr309 pages In a game of word association, chances are that ‘nullification’ would not meet with flattering replies. Nullification is a word associated with the Civil … Continue reading →

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The Strange Career of Jim Crow

Posted on December 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Strange Career of Jim Crow© 1955, 1965 C. Van Woodward245 pages             Fifty years ago, racial and civil unrest swept the United States as organized resistance to the morally outrageous and legally dodgy practice of … Continue reading →

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Race with the Devil

Posted on December 3, 2014 by smellincoffee

Race with the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love© 2013 Joseph Pearce264 pages How does a neo-Nazi become a Catholic literary critic?  An act of God?   Joseph Pearce would surely make the claim, his life having … Continue reading →

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They Thought They Were Free

Posted on October 22, 2014 by smellincoffee

They Thought they Were Free: the Germans, 1933-1945346 pages© 1955 Milton Mayer How could ordinary, decent people abide the Nazis for the span of twelve years — to allow a baby born at the NSDAP’s seizure of power to practically … Continue reading →

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Seeing like a State

Posted on October 9, 2014 by smellincoffee

Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition have Failed© 1999 James Scott464 pages             Seeing like a State scrutinizes the organizational approach of state governments and other large institutions from the … Continue reading →

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Thank You For Smoking

Posted on August 14, 2014 by smellincoffee

Thank You for Smoking© 1994 Christopher Buckley272 pages Nick Naylor may be one of the most hated men in America, because his job is to serve as the legal guardian and advocate of Big Tobacco –and he is very, very … Continue reading →

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