Tag Archives: politics

The Fiery Cross

Posted on May 26, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America© 1998 Wyn Craig Wade528 pages Living in the country as I did,  the bus ride to school always lasted over an hour, and in elementary school I remember being utterly petrified … Continue reading →

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

The Wars of the Roses

Posted on May 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Wars of the Roses© 1996 Alison Weir496 pages The wars of the roses sounds like a gardening contest run amok, but no genteel horticulturists were involved.  The strange appellation refers to a series of dynastic crises in 15th century … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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 →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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 →

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

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 →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments