Tag Archives: politics

This week at the library: sheikhs, airplanes, and VW vans

Posted on March 16, 2013 by smellincoffee

This past Thursday, some friends drove me three hours into the woods, dropped me off in the midst of some 70 strangers, and left me there. They called it “Cursillo”, and it was a spiritual retreat which I liked enormously … Continue reading →

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Walkable Cities

Posted on January 31, 2013 by smellincoffee

Walkable Cities: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time© 2012 Jeff Speck312 pages   For most of human history, cities were limited to the area that people could cover on foot within a day, but the advent … Continue reading →

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Sparkly Hayek

Posted on December 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

Yesterday I finished my last read for 2012, which was…Twilight. Yes, the sparkly-vampires-playing-baseball book. I read it as a joke. It turned out to be a rather mean joke on myself, because it consisted of 400 pages of two lovesick … Continue reading →

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They Eat Puppies, Don’t They?

Posted on August 26, 2012 by smellincoffee

They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? © 2012 Christopher Buckley335 pages They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? is a satirical novel about the power of the military-industrial congress, its lead character undertaking a mission to pose as a lobbyist to whip up anti-China … Continue reading →

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John Adams

Posted on August 18, 2012 by smellincoffee

John Adams© 2001 David McCullough751 pages The memory of some American presidents looms over the national mind like their monuments tower above the landscape. But John Adams has no monument on the National Mall: his face does not stare down … Continue reading →

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Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong

Posted on July 18, 2012 by smellincoffee

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France (But Not the French)© 2003 Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow351 pages France stymies Americans. They eat what they want, but seemingly don’t get fat. Their government is happily involved in … Continue reading →

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Independence Wrap-up

Posted on July 8, 2012 by smellincoffee

This year I continued in my tradition of reading some appropriate books around the Fourth of July, starting with the excellent Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis and moving on to two collections. The first, Our Sacred Honor by William J. … Continue reading →

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The Green Metropolis

Posted on June 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability© 2009 David Owen357 pages Green is probably not the word that comes to mind at the mention of Manhattan, but to David Owen, few … Continue reading →

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Founding Brothers

Posted on June 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

Founding Brothers:  the Revolutionary Generation © 2000 288 pages Laboring always at the same oar, with some wave ever ahead threatening to overwhelm us, and yet passing harmless under our bark, we knew not how, we rode through the storm … Continue reading →

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Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Posted on June 16, 2012 by smellincoffee

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why America Needs a Green Evolution: And How it Can Renew America© 2006 Thomas Friedman438 pages    The world is changing. Regardless of the consoling reassurances of corporations, industries, and the silk-tongued politicians who lobby on their … Continue reading →

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