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Michael C. Smith
Marshall, Texas
Interests: Reading, history, architecture, and music.
Recent Activity
Puttering Over to WordPress
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This will be the last post in the TypePad incarnation of Puttering in the Study, as I have decided to move the blog to a WordPress platform, where it will have the URL it's always wanted, www.putteringinthestudy.com . This site... Continue reading
Posted Nov 22, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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From Twitter to Mastodon
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About a week ago I downloaded Mastodon to start exploring alternatives to Twitter if it came to that. It took a couple of days to get the hang of how to locate people and subjects I was interested in, but... Continue reading
Posted Nov 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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New Study Curtains
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Well, it's the study so I have to post on it. After almost 18 years with the dark red Pottery Barn slubby silk curtains (with sheers), I finally got new curtains for the study. They are navy blue velvet blackout,... Continue reading
Posted Nov 8, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Roosevelt's Navy: The Education of a Warrior President, 1882-1920 - James Tertis de Kay
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This was a magnificent little book. It focuses on Roosevelt's tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1919, ending with his nomination to the vice presidency in 1920. It notes that from his earliest days in college... Continue reading
Posted Aug 28, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Hornblower and the Island / Hornblower and the Journey Home - James Keffer
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These two books are part of a series Hornblower's Legacy by author James Keffer. It is fan fiction set within the framework of C.S. Forester's Hornblower novels. In betweeen the two that I read are four books about a naval... Continue reading
Posted Aug 21, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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The Local – Joey Hartstone
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On a recent New York Times recommended reading list is a new legal thriller – this time set in Marshall and featuring a (fictional) local patent lawyer. I thought readers might like a review from a local perspective. The book... Continue reading
Posted Aug 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay - Craig L. Symonds
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There hasn't been a comprehensive biography of Fleet Adm. Nimitz since Craig Symonds' mentor E.B. Potter wrote Nimitz in 1976 - and this isn't it either. Instead, Symonds has written an account of Nimitz' command leadership during the Pacific War,... Continue reading
Posted Aug 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned the Tide in the Second World War - Paul Kennedy
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This was my second read of this interesting little book. Kennedy studies five problems that the Allies faced in World War II, from how to get convoys safely across the Atlantic, to winning command of the air, stopping a blitzkrieg,... Continue reading
Posted Aug 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America Paperback – Jared Cohen
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I knew I'd be interested in the topic, but not "this" interested. 33 years ago my professional report (LBJ lingo for master's thesis) was on the American vice president, with a preceding paper on the "accidental presidencies." Admittedly I focused... Continue reading
Posted Aug 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Getting Back on the Blog
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After three weeks of vacation, two weeks of trial, and a week of insane catchup, I'm starting to post again. I'll start with some overdue book reviews, and go from there. Continue reading
Posted Aug 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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On the Double Build Road Again ...
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This time it's a 1944 and 1969 USS Hornet (CV/CVS-12). The former is pretty much an out of the box Dragon Essex (CV-9), which approximates Hornet's wartime appearance better than their Hornet does, actually. The latter is a heavily kitbashed... Continue reading
Posted May 26, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible And Why / Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don't Know About Them) - Bart Ehrman
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One of my favorite Teaching Company videos is Dr. Bart Ehrman’s on the New Testament, where he goes into what I now understand is the historical–critical analysis of the books of the New Testament. The lectures provide a fascinating insight... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow
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What is there left to say about this book? Not only did it fill an important gap in the popular biography of an important Founding Father – it inspired a groundbreaking Broadway musical that will inspire generations to come with... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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The Cartographers: A Novel - Peng Shepherd
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The idea of a novel built around the hidden secrets contained in maps was catnip to me when I first read about this book. It’s a variation on the Dan Brown – style archaeological porn that I used to love... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power - Jon Meacham
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I am pretty sure this book has been on my Kindle for over ten years. It is an exhaustive biography of Jefferson, but focused on his career as a political leader. That is not to me the most interesting aspect... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel - Anthony Doerr
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This novel beggars description. Throughout, it is multiple stories ranging from medieval Eastern Europe and Constantinople to the Korean War, the 1970s, the near future, and the farther future. At the end, the author ties them together into a coherent... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages - Dan Jones
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This is my first Dan Jones book, and I really enjoyed it. It is a very readable account of the thousand years of history between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the discovery of the New World. He... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Quantum of Nightmares (Laundry Files, 11) – Charles Stross
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Unlike the 10th installment of the Laundry Files, it only took me a couple of weeks to finish this one. While it used much of the same cast as its Peter Pan–inspired predecessor, and added a Mary Poppins-inspired character, the... Continue reading
Posted Feb 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities - Bettany Hughes
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I really enjoyed this book. It was a complete history of the city from its origins to the modern day. It says a lot about the different empires that used it as a base, as well as the states that... Continue reading
Posted Feb 20, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Dead Lies Dreaming - Charles Stross
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This is the latest installment in the "Laundry" series, but has nothing to do with that agency. Instead, it is exploring a spinoff set of characters, using Stross' latest conceit – adding an overlay from another literary work. In this... Continue reading
Posted Jan 17, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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2021 Modeling Review - Four Essexes, Nine Aircraft and a 88mm
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https://imodeler.com/2022/01/2021-modeling-review-four-essexes-nine-aircraft-and-a-88mm/ Continue reading
Posted Jan 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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1/700 USS Randolph (CV-15) – August 1945
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https://imodeler.com/2022/01/1-700-uss-randolph-cv-15-august-1945/ Continue reading
Posted Jan 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Leppla/Liska "Sail 12" SBD Dauntless – Battle of the Coral Sea
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https://imodeler.com/2022/01/leppla-liska-sail-12-sbd-dauntless-battle-of-the-coral-sea/ Continue reading
Posted Jan 1, 2022 at Puttering in the Study
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Rereads: "Dune", "Declare", "Battle of Britain" and "Overlord" on Audible
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I have recently noticed a tendency to reread books that I think I might enjoy - and more often, to start listening to them as audiobooks. Most recently, I decided to reread Frank Herbert's Dune in advance of the new... Continue reading
Posted Dec 22, 2021 at Puttering in the Study
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Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul – John Freely
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This book describes the private lives of the sultans in and around Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire's occupation of the former Constantinople (1453-1922). I was fascinated by our visit to Topkapi Palace several years ago, and this book puts a... Continue reading
Posted Dec 22, 2021 at Puttering in the Study
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