Tag Archives: social history

A Brief History of Motion

Posted on July 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Tom, Tom, Tom. You know drinking and driving is a bad idea, but what did you do? You followed A History of the World through Six Glasses with this A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Automobile. … Continue reading →

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Faces Along the Bar

Posted on June 5, 2023 by smellincoffee

Faces along the Bar: Lore and Order in the Workingman’s Saloon, 1870-1920© 1998 Madelon Powers331 pages Men’s thinking on this issue seems to have involved an interesting mixture of solicitude and defiance. On the one hand, decent women should be … Continue reading →

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America Walks into a Bar

Posted on October 25, 2022 by smellincoffee

America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops© 2014 Christine Sismondo336 pages Welcome, friend. Pull up a stool.    You’ve come in at the tail end of a story, but it’s one … Continue reading →

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Life and Death in the Third Reich

Posted on October 20, 2022 by smellincoffee

Life and Death in the Third Reich© 2009 Peter Fritzsche384 pages A few years ago I read Peter Fritzsche’s An Iron Wind: Europe Under Hitler, which examined how the Nazi conquest of most of Europe permeated into its culture in … Continue reading →

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Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants

Posted on September 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans© Garrett Ryan 288 pages For those interested in the life of Greece and Rome beyond senatorial politics and agricultural policy, Naked States offers an … Continue reading →

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Victorian London

Posted on April 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

Victorian London: The Life of a City, 1840 – 1870© 2013 Liza Picard504 pages As far as immersive English social histories go, I would heretofore have called Ian Mortimer the champion standing, but if Victorian London is any example, Liza … Continue reading →

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A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England

Posted on April 8, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England© 2014 Sue Wilkes224 pages Fancy a visit with Jane? Sue Wilkes has created here a light introduction to Austen’s society, the landed gentry of the mid-Georgian period. Although its approach reminds one of … Continue reading →

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The Time Traveler’s Guide to Restoration Britain

Posted on April 10, 2019 by smellincoffee

Having previously guided readers through the Medieval and Elizabethan eras, Ian Mortimer now welcomes intrepid travelers to the Age of Restoration. The tyrant Oliver Cromwell is dead, and with him went his grim police-state ‘republic’ and the armed doctrine of … Continue reading →

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A Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England

Posted on April 19, 2018 by smellincoffee

A Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England© 2014 Ian Mortimer415 pages Previously Ian Mortimer has offered readers with access to a time machine a handbook for medieval England. Perhaps mystery plays based on Scripture are not your interest, however, and you’d … Continue reading →

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Everyday Life of the North American Indians

Posted on February 13, 2018 by smellincoffee

Everyday Life of the North American Indian© 1979 Jon White256 pages Everyday Life of the North American Indian is a dated but informative survey of the customs and lifestyles of native peoples across the continent. Most of the content is organized … Continue reading →

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