Tag Archives: Politics-CivicInterest

Then Everything Changed

Posted on March 16, 2011 by smellincoffee

Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan© 2011 Jeff Greenfield434 pages “…playing with history is a small bit of payback for the way history has played with us.” Historical speculation may not be … Continue reading →

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The Revolutionist

Posted on February 22, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Revolutionist: A Novel of Russia© 1988 Robert Littell467 pages Arise! You workers from your slumber Arise! You prisoners of want For  Reason in revolt now thunders And at last ends the age of “can’t”.  “The Internationale”, English lyrics by  Eugène … Continue reading →

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Weapons of Satire

Posted on June 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the American-Phillipine War© 1992 Mark Twain; edited by Jim Zwick.256 pages Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword; He is searching out the hoardings where the stranger’s wealth is … Continue reading →

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Homage to Catalonia

Posted on May 26, 2010 by smellincoffee

Homage to Catalonia© 1952 George Orwell232 pages On 17 July 1936, conservative and reactionary forces inside Spain opted to seize power by force, rather than allow the Popular Front government — an increasingly liberal, democratic, and progressive entity that undermined … Continue reading →

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North Korea: Another Country

Posted on May 22, 2010 by smellincoffee

North Korea: Another Country© 2004 Bruce Cumings241 pages “It helps in understanding North Korea if you have lived in a fundamentalist Christian community…just like the North Koreans, we believed in the absolute purity of our doctrines. We focused inward and … Continue reading →

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A Power Governments Cannot Suppress

Posted on February 11, 2010 by smellincoffee

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress © 2007 Howard Zinn 293 pages This year I have become convincted that democracy is not something that happens at the ballot-box but on the streets. It consists in mass movements forcing the institutions that … Continue reading →

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Red Emma Speaks

Posted on February 4, 2010 by smellincoffee

Red Emma Speaks: An Emma Goldman Reader© 1973, 1996 ed. Alix Kates Shulman464 pages           Emma Goldman was an incorrigible political activist and social critic during the Gilded Age, speaking out against nearly everything society held dear – the government, capitalism, … Continue reading →

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The Motorcycle Diaries

Posted on January 28, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey© Ernesto Guevara (Ocean Press 2004)175 pages “Along the roads of our daydream we reached remote countries, navigated tropical seas and traveled all through Asia. And suddenly, slipping in as if part … Continue reading →

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The Zinn Reader

Posted on November 21, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Zinn Reader© 1997 Howard Zinn668 pages When I pulled this book from the shelf, I did so with the intention of checking it out and reading it over the Thanksgiving holiday. I did not anticipate the book monopolizing my … Continue reading →

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Are We Rome?

Posted on August 27, 2009 by smellincoffee

Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America © 2007 Cullen Murphy 262 pages Lead poisons our wine and makes us stupid / Gladiators keep us entertained / More votes cast for idols than for … Continue reading →

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