Mr. and Mrs. Psmith’s Bookshelf

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REVIEW: The Man Who Rode the Thunder, by William H. Rankin
The Man Who Rode the Thunder, William H. Rankin (Prentice-Hall, 1960). Like many little boys, I loved learning lists of things. One day it was clouds…
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John Psmith
9
REVIEW: The Verge, by Patrick Wyman
The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World, Patrick Wyman (Twelve, 2021). One of the many interests of this Substack is…
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Jane Psmith
1
REVIEW: The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire, by Edward Luttwak
The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century CE to the Third, Edward N. Luttwak (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976). In one of the…
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John Psmith
8
BRIEFLY NOTED: Alternate History
As I’ve written before, I am an absolute sucker for alternate history. Most of it, unfortunately, is not very good, even by the standards of genre…
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Jane Psmith
11
October 2023
REVIEW: The Variational Principles of Mechanics, by Cornelius Lanczos
The Variational Principles of Mechanics, Cornelius Lanczos (University of Toronto Press, 1949). While sailing a little boat the other day, I thought of…
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John Psmith
1
REVIEW: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue, by John McWhorter
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English, John McWhorter (Avery, 2009). Knew you that John McWhorter has a day job? When he writes…
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Jane Psmith
6
REVIEW: Central Banking 101, by Joseph Wang
Central Banking 101, Joseph Wang (Self-Published, 2021) The greatest gift bestowed by admittance to elite institutions is that you stop being overawed…
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John Psmith
6
GUEST JOINT REVIEW: Homicide, by David Simon
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, David Simon (1991; Picador, 2006). The following is an email exchange between Jane Psmith and Charles Lehman of…
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Jane Psmith
 and 
Charles Fain Lehman
2
REVIEW: The Cruise of the Nona, by Hilaire Belloc
Late in the May of 1925, around midnight, Hilaire Belloc climbed into a tiny boat and put out to sea so that he would have some time to think. The sea…
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John Psmith
2
September 2023
REVIEW: How to Read a Tree, by Tristan Gooley
How to Read a Tree: Clues and Patterns from Bark to Leaves, Tristan Gooley (The Experiment, 2023). Okay, I admit it: I read this book because I wanted…
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Jane Psmith
4
JOINT REVIEW: Origen's Revenge, by Brian Patrick Mitchell
Origen’s Revenge: The Greek and Hebrew Roots of Christian Thinking on Male and Female, Brian Patrick Mitchell (Pickwick, 2021). The following is an…
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Jane Psmith
 and 
John Psmith
5
REVIEW: When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamín Labatut
When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamín Labatut (New York Review of Books, 2021). Have you ever sat and stared at the sea? If you’ve been near…
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John Psmith
5
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