Tag Archives: sports and outdoors

Of cyclists, colonial Catholics, and crappy endings

Posted on February 21, 2022 by smellincoffee

Last weekend I stayed at the Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, there to be evaluated for admission to their kidney transplant list. Much of my downtime was spent (how else) reading. How Cycling Can Save the World is a straightforward argument … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

The Lost Classics

Posted on February 18, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Lost Classics© ed. Jim Casada1950s-60s pieces by Robert Ruark from Field & Stream and other magazines260 pages A hunt for southern literature outside the Faulkner/O’Connor domain brought me to the happy surprise that was The Old Man and the … Continue reading →

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The Old Man and the Boy

Posted on January 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Old Man and the Boy© 1957 Robert Ruark303 pages Of the various titles on my Classics Club Strikes back list, The Old Man and the Boy is something of an outlier; I’d venture to say that most people haven’t … Continue reading →

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Gun Guys

Posted on October 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

Gun Guys: A Road Trip © 2013 Dan Baum 353 pages     Why do Americans love guns so much?  Dan Baum knew why he loved them. He was the skinny misfit who was mocked and left behind at summer … Continue reading →

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American Rifle

Posted on October 18, 2019 by smellincoffee

American Rifle: A Biography © 2008 Alexander Rose 512 pages The quintessential American firearm is the rifle,   which through centuries of colonization and growth,  has served in both myth and fact.  I use myth not in the modern disparaging sense, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Courage to Start

Posted on September 10, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Courage to Start: A Guide to Running For Your Life © 1999 John Bingham 208 pages John Bingham loved running as a kid. He wasn’t any good at it – he flailed his arms and wouldn’t impress any stopwatch-yielding … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Two books on deer

Posted on May 2, 2019 by smellincoffee

 Two friends of mine have deer who visit their yard on a regular basis. The does happily tolerate my friends’ presence in the yard, as they’re picking up sticks or watering the flowers. If, however, my friends have guests, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 9 Comments

American Gun

Posted on April 12, 2019 by smellincoffee

 American Gun© 2013 Chris Kyle336 pages Think of English history, and longbows, tall ships, and shieldwalls may come to mind; think of France, and perhaps the image is knights charging across an open field. But American history, from the colonies … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , | 7 Comments

This week at the Library: Hunger Games, Hunting, and Baseball

Posted on January 12, 2013 by smellincoffee

I started this year off by finishing The Hunger Games: its finale, Mockingjay, utterly consumed my attention. It’s the story of revolution, a war against the oppressive Capitol which erupted in the course of the 75th Hunger Games, a teenage deathmatch … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments