Ell, a millennial of European and Mexican heritage, has one humorous children’s book published, but her more serious writing projects are stalled, her boyfriend has dumped her, and she is deeply frightened by a recurring dream. To solve her problems she delves into family mysteries – Civil War-era slaveholding, madness, and theft of artifacts. The […]
Histories
THE MEMOIR OF THE MINOTAUR
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, […]
THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION
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 […]
THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION
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 […]
HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA: SOLDIERS, SAILORS, DIPLOMATS, LOUIS XVI, AND THE SUCCESS OF A REVOLUTION
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 States may never have gained independence.” Kirkus Reviews. “Shachtman illuminates the impact of French contributions to American military leadership, resources, […]
The Day America Crashed
THE DAY AMERICA CRASHED: A Narrative Account of the Great Stock Market Crash of October 24, 1929. Something happened on a fall day in 1929 that permanently altered the direction of the nation’s history and scarred the lives of an entire generation of Americans. October 24, “Black Thursday” was not only the day of the […]