Tag Archives: social criticism

This Week at the Library (14 March)

Posted on March 14, 2012 by smellincoffee

Reviews: 200 pages; © 2012 A family of four sits at a table in a nice restaurant, heads bowed. But they’re not pausing for reflection or prayer; they’re in the middle of a meal, and all attempting to check their … Continue reading →

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Asphalt Nation

Posted on February 14, 2012 by smellincoffee

Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back© 1997 Jane Holtz Kay418 pages Lord, Mister Ford, I just wish you could see what your simple horseless carriage has become! It seems your contribution … Continue reading →

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Desert Solitaire

Posted on February 10, 2012 by smellincoffee

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness© 1968 Edward Abbey269 pages Journey to the expansive southwestern American desert and take it in — the vast stretches of open ground, bounded by mountains and broken by marvelously intriguing rock formations that … Continue reading →

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Bowling Alone

Posted on January 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community© 2001 Robert D. Putnam544 pages Every so often I read a book that strikes my brain as lightening, forever altering my thinking and earning a permanent place both on my bedside … Continue reading →

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The City in Mind

Posted on December 29, 2011 by smellincoffee

The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition© 2001 James Howard Kunstler272 pages The study of civilization is nothing less than the study of the culture of cities. Humanity has survived on the Earth for hundreds of thousands of … Continue reading →

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In Defense of Food

Posted on December 5, 2011 by smellincoffee

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto© 2009 Michael Pollan256 pages Michael Pollan’s seminal work, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, established that there’s no such thing as a free, or even a cheap, lunch.  The low-cost processed foods that the American diet … Continue reading →

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The KunstlerCast

Posted on November 9, 2011 by smellincoffee

The KunstlerCast: Conversations with James Howard Kunstler …the tragic comedy of suburban sprawl. © 2011 Duncan Crary, James Howard Kunstler 300 pages James Howard Kunstler is a journalist turned social critic and the author of numerous books, most prominently The … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train

Posted on March 26, 2011 by smellincoffee

You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times© 1995, 2002 Howard Zinn224 pages Howard Zinn not only taught history: he helped make it. The product of a working-class family in New York, Zinn left … Continue reading →

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Travels with Charley

Posted on July 16, 2010 by smellincoffee

Travels with Charley in Search of America© 1962 John Steinbeck246 pages Author John Steinbeck is perhaps most famous for The Grapes of Wrath, the story of the displaced Joad family who travel to California from their home in  Oklahoma in … 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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