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Tom Shachtman

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THE MEMOIR OF THE MINOTAUR

September 9, 2020

A novel Published by MADVILLE PUBLISHING.

Prepublication praise:

“A romping confessional riff on the classic tale, a portrait of the artist as a young bull. Shachtman’s rollicking prose weaves mythology into a gripping yarn and gives antiquity’s voiceless celebrity monster a soaring human heart.”

-Charles Graeber, NYT bestselling author of The Good Nurse and The Breakthrough. 

“A fine read.  Exciting, entertaining, witty.  Even more, a rare experience.  Despite the blood and gore, the book resonates with wonder, and lingers in our minds for weeks afterward.   Its conclusions are generous and thoughtful.   A ‘classics’ challenge for readers that stuns us with its bravery and humor.  I loved it.” 

-John Neufeld, author of international bestsellers Lisa, Bright and Dark, and Edgar Allen. 

“Seldom have I written a review in which I can quiet the voice of the critic while losing myself in the story. As I read The Memoir of the Minotaur, that critical voice was very quiet; I am not exaggerating when I say the prose is so nearly flawless that we may as well call it perfect.  There is not one phrase that has not been carefully selected and evaluated. Shachtman is a word-master; if you are a fan of Neil Gaiman or Salman Rushdie you don’t want to miss this book.”

-Five-star reedsy review.

Praise from an early reader:

“Shares its form with other popular retellings of the monster narrative such as John Gardner’s Grendel … and the narrative voice has likenesses to the exuberance, bawdiness, and blasphemy of Salman Rushdie and John Barth …. Packed with actions both big and small as it deals with themes of power, violence, sexuality, and the role of storytelling, its most endearing quality is the hilarity and absurdity of our classical values interacting with our animalistic cores …. Ultimately, the book is riotous …. I had a great time with it.” 

Filed Under: Histories, Home Page Books

THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION

September 23, 2019

St. Martin’s Press in January 2020: THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION

Pre-publication praise:

“An ingenious examination of how money played the central role in the founding of the United States … Shachtman emphasizes that [after the Revolution] no mass movement demanded change. The Constitution was championed “by a very small subset of the country’s wealthy.” They looked after their own interests, and their priorities were social order, contracts, collecting debts, and a strong currency. However, as the author shows, unlike the ultrawealthy today, most embraced equality of opportunity …. A provocative argument that wealthy men built America and did a good job.” – Kirkus Reviews

“I was raised to think of the American Revolution as a rare moment in history in which neither “cherchez la femme” nor “follow the money” would get you to the truth.  Yet in The Founding Fortunes, following the money reveals a gritty reality that we can’t access any other way.  It evokes the sights, sounds and psychology of the era more vividly than a whole shelf of books about lofty ideals and governance.”     – Peter Petre, former executive editor, Fortune.

Filed Under: Histories, Home Page Books

HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA: SOLDIERS, SAILORS, DIPLOMATS, LOUIS XVI, AND THE SUCCESS OF A REVOLUTION

April 7, 2017

St. Martin’s Press in September 2017: HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA: SOLDIERS, SAILORS, DIPLOMATS, LOUIS XVI, AND THE SUCCESS OF A REVOLUTION. Pre-publication praise: “The author makes a convincing case that, without France, the United … [Continue reading] about HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA: SOLDIERS, SAILORS, DIPLOMATS, LOUIS XVI, AND THE SUCCESS OF A REVOLUTION

Filed Under: Histories, Home Page Books

Gentlemen Scientists and Revolutionaries: The Founding Fathers in the Age of Enlightenment

February 2, 2014

Gentlemen Scientists and Revolutionaries: The Founding Fathers in the Age of Enlightenment by Tom Shachtman

C-Span’s taping of lecture about this book at the New York Public Library The book is a Featured Alternate for the History Book Club, Military Book Club, Scientific American Book Club, and Book-of-the-Month Club 2. Adapted excerpt: George … [Continue reading] about Gentlemen Scientists and Revolutionaries: The Founding Fathers in the Age of Enlightenment

Filed Under: Home Page Books

American Iconoclast: The Life and Times of Eric Hoffer

February 2, 2013

American Iconoclast: The Life and Times of Eric Hoffer by Tom Shachtman

"Excellent new biography …. [Hoffer’s] name has gradually faded from view. Yet, as his biographer points out, Hoffer continues to contribute insightful ideas and opinions to society, which is why we ought to look to his writings once again.” - The … [Continue reading] about American Iconoclast: The Life and Times of Eric Hoffer

Filed Under: Books, Home Page Books

Rumspringa, To Be Or Not To Be Amish

February 1, 2013

Rumspringa by Tom Shachtman

“Shachtman is like a maestro, masterfully conducting an orchestra of history, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and journalism together in a harmonious and evocative symphony of all things Amish.” – Christian Science Monitor. Now in … [Continue reading] about Rumspringa, To Be Or Not To Be Amish

Filed Under: Books, Home Page Books, Most Recent Books

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Primary Sidebar

New for Spring 2022

Manuscript evaluation and editing for individual students based on my extensive publication history and many years teaching at major university writing programs.

Fees and schedules available upon request.  Payment by Paypal or check…

 

THE MEMOIR OF THE MINOTAUR from Madville Publishing

Publication of THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION, from Saint Martin’s Press.

Podcast about THE FOUNDING FORTUNES with Walter Woodward, State Historian for Connecticut

Digital-Only Publications

The first volumes in my historical novel series, The Eagle’s Claw, about a secret, private organization that undertakes tasks for the President – some illegal, some scandalous, and all extraordinary — that the government cannot do but that need doing.

“The Pirate of Lake Erie,”

and
“The Perilous Letter of the Apalachicola.”

… and the non-fiction tale, The Commies, the Jewish Mob, the Union and My Grandfather: The Fur-Worker Wars of the 1920s.

Secondary Sidebar

About Tom


Photo (c) by Anne Day

Hi, I’m Tom Shachtman, author, filmmaker and educator. I’ve written forty books, mostly for mainstream publishers, as well as television documentaries seen on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, and other channels, and lectured at universities from Harvard to Georgia Tech to Stanford, and at libraries from the New York Public to the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Newberry in Chicago, and the Hoover Institution.

My newest book is THE MEMOIR OF THE MINOTAUR, a novel.

The third book in my trilogy of non-fiction books about the Revolutionary War era, THE FOUNDING FORTUNES, was recently published by Macmillan, to go along with HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA and GENTLEMEN SCIENTISTS AND REVOLUTIONARIES.

Earlier books continue to attract attention.

ABSOLUTE ZERO was just reviewed as an important classic in the February 1st issue.

WHOEVER FIGHTS MONSTERS, written with Robert K. Ressler, an international bestseller, is now a must-have audio book for those interested in serial killers. AMERICAN ICONOCLAST, my biography of Eric Hoffer, the “longshoreman philosopher,” was occasion for a recent interview with Canadian Broadcasting. In December 2019, SKYSCRAPER DREAMS, my history of the builders of New York City, was the top recommendation for holiday reading of the real-estate industry magazine The Real Deal. ABSOLUTE ZERO AND THE CONQUEST OF COLD was featured on several recent must-read lists of popular science.

More details about these and other books are in the following pages of this website. Read on!

My latest article for The Daily Beast

Multi-part series in The Lakeville Journal

The 14th Colony: A Brief History by Tom Shachtman To read the series, click on the graphic above. For Part I, click here.

Reference Sites

  • Connecticut Humanities Council
  • Edmond D. Pope For more information on my co-author, a former U.S. naval officer wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, the story we told in TORPEDOED!
  • Housatonic Heritage information about the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area
  • The Lakeville Journal
  • The Writers Room
  • TobaccoFree For more information on my co-author, Patrick Reynolds, and anti-smoking campaigns.

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