Tag Archives: Politics-CivicInterest

The Copperhead

Posted on May 5, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Copperhead© 1893 Harold Frederic108 pages War can destroy a city without the first shell falling on it. Such was nearly the fate of Four Corners, New York, a small farming community in its upper reaches. Far removed from the … Continue reading →

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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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