About the Author
Martin W. Sandler is the author of Lincoln Through the Lens and The Dust Bowl Through the Lens. He has won five Emmy Awards for his writing for television and is the author of more than sixty books, two of which have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Sandler's other books are the six show more volumes in his award-winning Library of Congress American History Series for Young People, a series which has sold more than 500,000 copies. Other books by Mr. Sandler include: Island of Hope: The Story of Ellis Island, Trapped in Ice, The Story of American Photography, The Vaqueros, America: A Celebration, and This Was America. Martin Sandler has taught American history and American studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at Smith College. In 2014 his title, Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II, made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Martin W. Sandler
Resolute: The Epic Search for the Northwest Passage and John Franklin, and the Discovery of the Queen's Ghost Ship (2006) 283 copies, 4 reviews
Lincoln Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life (2008) 151 copies, 8 reviews
Kennedy Through the Lens: How Photography and Television Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Leader (2011) 100 copies, 9 reviews
The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster (2009) 92 copies, 7 reviews
Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation: The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad (2015) 86 copies, 12 reviews
Against The Odds: Women Pioneers in The First Hundred Years Of Photography (2002) 37 copies, 1 review
Picturing a Nation: The Great Depression’s Finest Photographers Introduce America to Itself (2021) 36 copies, 7 reviews
What Was America's Deadliest War?: And Other Questions About The Civil War (Good Question!) (2014) 32 copies
Why Did the Whole World Go to War?: And Other Questions About... World War II (Good Question!) (2013) 30 copies
Who Were the American Pioneers?: And Other Questions About Westward Expansion (Good Question!) (2014) 26 copies
Straphanging in the USA: Trolleys and Subways in American Life (Transportation in America) (2003) 14 copies
On the Waters of the USA: Ships and Boats in American Life (Transportation in America) (2003) 11 copies
Beyond the Bottom Line: How to Do More with Less in Nonprofit and Public Organizations (1998) 10 copies, 1 review
Immigrants 1 copy
Trapped in ice 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1932
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- teacher
writer - Organizations
- University of Massachusetts
Smith College - Short biography
- Martin Sandler has received two Pulitzer Prize nominations, a Boston Horn
Book Award for The Story of American Photography: An Illustrated History for young People, and seven emmy awards. He is the author of more than eighty books, including Sterling's Resolute: The Epic Search for the Northwest Passage and John Franklin, and the Discovery of the Queen's Ghost Ship. His best selling Library of Congress American History series have sold more than 500,000 copies.
Mr. Sandler has produced and written numerous series for television; he was the creator and co-writer for the acclaimed "This was America" series, hosted by William Shatner. He has taught American history and American studies at the University of Massachusetts and Smith College. Martin Sandler is a passionate tennis player and a life long follower of the Boston Red Sox. He loves to uncover important but neglected stories in the human experience, particularly if they involve unimaginable heroism and surprising results. He lives with his wife in Cotuit, Mass.
His latest book is entitled Lost to Time: Unforgettable Stories that History Forgot published by Sterling in 2010. His next book, Kennedy Through the Lens (for young adults) will be released on January 4, 2011. Mr. Sandler is currently at work on three other books, The Kennedy Letters based on over 2 million pieces of correspondence from the Kennedy Library Archives in Boston. Bloomsbury, will publish The Kennedy Letters in three countries simultaneously: America, England, and Germany, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's death. Also in the works currently are two other books -- one on the Japanese-American Internment, and a young adult book on one of the most amazing sea adventures in history.
http://www.booksbythesea.net/author-o... - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Massachusetts, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Massachusetts, USA
Members
Reviews
"The Whydah" by Martin Sandler is a young adult (10-14 yrs) nonfiction book that covers the history of Black Sam Bellamy and Paulsgrave Williams' notorious ship. From originally serving as a slaver, to its capture as a piratical prize, to its sinking and rediscovery in 1984. The first half is a tidy biography of our pirates and then neatly transitions to the second half, which is dedicated to the Whydah's historic recovery. All without overwhelming the young reader or assuming too much.
There show more are a lot of wonderful things to say about this one. As the author tells the story of the Whydah, there are sets of interjecting pages of annotations throughout. The Whydah was, after all, a slave ship, so I was glad to see that the author didn't skim over the horrors of the Triangle Trade. They also include an example of pirate Articles, a clarification that pirates were NOT a bunch of lovable scallywags, and a little history of the "Jolly Roger," among other interesting tidbits. These "extra" pages are designed with a different font, border and accompanied by illustrations so the reader knows these are optional reading. After finishing the book, the reader can flip back through if they want.
The chapter on "The Search for the Whydah" was the best. Whydah historian Barry Clifford's devotion to finding the ship is admirable. There are "hundreds and hundreds of wrecks" out there and it was a struggle for Clifford to find proof that a particular wreck was the Whydah. But find it they did and the photo of Clifford holding the gold coins that his team retrieved is heartwarming. I think this book is a great way for young adults to get excited about history, about historic preservation and even a bit of treasure hunting. show less
There show more are a lot of wonderful things to say about this one. As the author tells the story of the Whydah, there are sets of interjecting pages of annotations throughout. The Whydah was, after all, a slave ship, so I was glad to see that the author didn't skim over the horrors of the Triangle Trade. They also include an example of pirate Articles, a clarification that pirates were NOT a bunch of lovable scallywags, and a little history of the "Jolly Roger," among other interesting tidbits. These "extra" pages are designed with a different font, border and accompanied by illustrations so the reader knows these are optional reading. After finishing the book, the reader can flip back through if they want.
The chapter on "The Search for the Whydah" was the best. Whydah historian Barry Clifford's devotion to finding the ship is admirable. There are "hundreds and hundreds of wrecks" out there and it was a struggle for Clifford to find proof that a particular wreck was the Whydah. But find it they did and the photo of Clifford holding the gold coins that his team retrieved is heartwarming. I think this book is a great way for young adults to get excited about history, about historic preservation and even a bit of treasure hunting. show less
I did not expect to enjoy The Whydah by Martin Sandler. This nonfiction YA book turned out to be really interesting and fascinating! (I listened to the audiobook and didn’t really care for the narrator’s voice, but it was well-written so I didn’t mind.) Not only does the author go into detail about the history of the ship, but he delves into the history of those who captained it, the pirates who stole it, and many other side stories that related to the Whydah. I love fiction about show more pirates, so I figured I would give this particular nonfiction title a try, and I am glad I did. Apparently, pirates aren’t at all what is depicted in fiction titles, movies, and TV shows. They were often quite educated, spoke just as normal as anyone else, and accepted anyone to crew as long as that person followed the set rules of piratedom.
The Whydah was filled with action and adventure. It became very exciting at some points where you couldn’t wait to hear/read what happened next to those on the ship. Anyone who has a love for history could definitely enjoy this book. It depicts several stories of people and other ships that were researched specifically for the process to find the sunken Whydah. Overall, this was an easy to read nonfiction book that was not dry at any chapter (in my opinion). show less
The Whydah was filled with action and adventure. It became very exciting at some points where you couldn’t wait to hear/read what happened next to those on the ship. Anyone who has a love for history could definitely enjoy this book. It depicts several stories of people and other ships that were researched specifically for the process to find the sunken Whydah. Overall, this was an easy to read nonfiction book that was not dry at any chapter (in my opinion). show less
A well-researched and lively history of the pirate ship WHYDAH, from its beginnings as a slave ship, to its reign as one of the most feared pirate ships, to its eventual fate as the first pirate shipwreck unearthed. The book also chronicles the life and career of its captain, Sam Bellamy. The author describes in vivid detail the life of a pirate, dispelling many of the romantic myths, but explaining the factors that led poor people facing indentured servitude or horrible conditions in a navy show more to welcome the chance to be master of their own fates as pirates; the relative democratic structures aboard a pirate ship; and the hard and sometimes violent lives.
The second part of the book deals with the efforts to locate the sunken remnants of the Whydah, based on oral histories of its shipwreck off the Cape Cod coast, and using modern technologies. The book is interspersed with small excerpts of information about topics such as slavery, the mechanics of a pirate attack, etc.
I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in learning more about the real story behind pirates. show less
The second part of the book deals with the efforts to locate the sunken remnants of the Whydah, based on oral histories of its shipwreck off the Cape Cod coast, and using modern technologies. The book is interspersed with small excerpts of information about topics such as slavery, the mechanics of a pirate attack, etc.
I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in learning more about the real story behind pirates. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Review of: Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything, by Martin W. Sandler
by Stan Prager (12-24-19)
Astronaut William Anders began: "For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the show more light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
On Christmas Eve fifty-one years ago, millions in the United States and around the globe—including this then eleven year old boy—gathered breathlessly around their TV’s to watch the first live broadcast from space, an extraordinary transmission beamed back to earth from more than two hundred thousand miles away from an American spacecraft in orbit around the moon. The largest television audience to that date was treated to remarkable photographs of the forbidding moonscape, but far more awe-inspiring and humbling were the images they viewed of their very own living planet, appearing so tiny and so remote from such a great distance. The three astronauts closed out the broadcast by reading passages from the biblical book of Genesis. Lunar Module Pilot Bill Anders was followed by Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and then Commander Frank Borman, who added: "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."
While this episode remains a heartwarming moment that celebrates both the universality of the human endeavor as well as the singularity of this accomplishment, it should not obscure the reality of what was really happening on that blue planet viewed from afar, of the wars and famines and cruelty and disasters that did not take a pause while space travelers read aloud from an ancient book that itself once gave witness to its same share of wars and famines and cruelty and disasters. Nor should it fail to remind us that these representatives of the earth blasted off from a badly fractured landscape at home.
The claim that America on this Christmas Eve of 2019 has never been this divided is at once refuted by a glance back to 1968, replete with acts of terror, campus unrest, cities in flames, mass demonstrations, political assassinations, and violence in the streets—the perfect storm of the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam and the revolution of rising expectations among long-disenfranchised blacks frustrated by the pace of change. If there was a kind of unifying force that remained to serve as some sort of glue amid the chaos and dissonance of a splintered national polity it had to be the space program and its race for the moon. The actual moon landing was not until the following year, but 1968 closed with the remarkable Apollo 8 mission, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, made more dramatic by that live Christmas Eve audio-video transmission from space that included those readings from Genesis, and later forever enshrined in our collective consciousness by the iconic photo “Earthrise” that depicts the earth rising over the moon’s horizon, snapped by astronaut Bill Anders, that is said to have inspired the environmental movement.
Martin W. Sandler revisits this existential moment that briefly comforted a troubled nation with the oversize and lavishly illustrated Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything, directed at a young adult (YA) audience but suitable for all. I have read and reviewed Sandler before. The author has a talent for clear, concise writing that while targeting a younger readership does not dumb-down the topic, an otherwise frequent tarnish to this genre of nonfiction. I obtained this book as part of an Early Reviewer program and my copy was an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) with black and white images, but the published edition is full-color and worth the purchase if only for the magnificent full color photographs, though these are nicely enhanced by a well-written narrative that encompasses the totality of this highly significant space mission and its ramifications back home. The only caution I would add is that I have detected glaring historical errors in some of Sandler’s other works. I did not stumble upon any here, but then I am hardly an expert on the space program. Thus, the reader should trust but verify!
Some—at the time and since—have objected to the astronauts’ choice of verses from Genesis, as if there was an attempt to impose religion from the beyond, or to celebrate the Judeo-Christian experience at the expense of others. We should not be so hard on them; they were simply seeking some kind of universal message to inspire us all. That they may have failed to please everyone may only underscore how diverse we are even as we transcend the myth of race to acknowledge that we all share the very same DNA, the same hopes and dreams and fears and needs and especially the desire to love and be loved. Astronaut Bill Landers himself returned from space as an atheist, awed by his place in the vast universe. I am not a religious person: I celebrate Christmas as a time for peace and love and Santa Claus. But I can still, like the astronauts on Apollo 8 fifty-one years ago, wish my readers a good night, good luck, and a Merry Christmas to all of you on the good Earth.
The broadcast from space: https://youtu.be/XEmn0uaQCYc
Review of: Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything, by Martin W. Sandler https://regarp.com/2019/12/24/review-of-apollo-8-the-mission-that-changed-everyt... show less
by Stan Prager (12-24-19)
Astronaut William Anders began: "For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the show more light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
On Christmas Eve fifty-one years ago, millions in the United States and around the globe—including this then eleven year old boy—gathered breathlessly around their TV’s to watch the first live broadcast from space, an extraordinary transmission beamed back to earth from more than two hundred thousand miles away from an American spacecraft in orbit around the moon. The largest television audience to that date was treated to remarkable photographs of the forbidding moonscape, but far more awe-inspiring and humbling were the images they viewed of their very own living planet, appearing so tiny and so remote from such a great distance. The three astronauts closed out the broadcast by reading passages from the biblical book of Genesis. Lunar Module Pilot Bill Anders was followed by Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and then Commander Frank Borman, who added: "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."
While this episode remains a heartwarming moment that celebrates both the universality of the human endeavor as well as the singularity of this accomplishment, it should not obscure the reality of what was really happening on that blue planet viewed from afar, of the wars and famines and cruelty and disasters that did not take a pause while space travelers read aloud from an ancient book that itself once gave witness to its same share of wars and famines and cruelty and disasters. Nor should it fail to remind us that these representatives of the earth blasted off from a badly fractured landscape at home.
The claim that America on this Christmas Eve of 2019 has never been this divided is at once refuted by a glance back to 1968, replete with acts of terror, campus unrest, cities in flames, mass demonstrations, political assassinations, and violence in the streets—the perfect storm of the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam and the revolution of rising expectations among long-disenfranchised blacks frustrated by the pace of change. If there was a kind of unifying force that remained to serve as some sort of glue amid the chaos and dissonance of a splintered national polity it had to be the space program and its race for the moon. The actual moon landing was not until the following year, but 1968 closed with the remarkable Apollo 8 mission, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, made more dramatic by that live Christmas Eve audio-video transmission from space that included those readings from Genesis, and later forever enshrined in our collective consciousness by the iconic photo “Earthrise” that depicts the earth rising over the moon’s horizon, snapped by astronaut Bill Anders, that is said to have inspired the environmental movement.
Martin W. Sandler revisits this existential moment that briefly comforted a troubled nation with the oversize and lavishly illustrated Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything, directed at a young adult (YA) audience but suitable for all. I have read and reviewed Sandler before. The author has a talent for clear, concise writing that while targeting a younger readership does not dumb-down the topic, an otherwise frequent tarnish to this genre of nonfiction. I obtained this book as part of an Early Reviewer program and my copy was an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) with black and white images, but the published edition is full-color and worth the purchase if only for the magnificent full color photographs, though these are nicely enhanced by a well-written narrative that encompasses the totality of this highly significant space mission and its ramifications back home. The only caution I would add is that I have detected glaring historical errors in some of Sandler’s other works. I did not stumble upon any here, but then I am hardly an expert on the space program. Thus, the reader should trust but verify!
Some—at the time and since—have objected to the astronauts’ choice of verses from Genesis, as if there was an attempt to impose religion from the beyond, or to celebrate the Judeo-Christian experience at the expense of others. We should not be so hard on them; they were simply seeking some kind of universal message to inspire us all. That they may have failed to please everyone may only underscore how diverse we are even as we transcend the myth of race to acknowledge that we all share the very same DNA, the same hopes and dreams and fears and needs and especially the desire to love and be loved. Astronaut Bill Landers himself returned from space as an atheist, awed by his place in the vast universe. I am not a religious person: I celebrate Christmas as a time for peace and love and Santa Claus. But I can still, like the astronauts on Apollo 8 fifty-one years ago, wish my readers a good night, good luck, and a Merry Christmas to all of you on the good Earth.
The broadcast from space: https://youtu.be/XEmn0uaQCYc
Review of: Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything, by Martin W. Sandler https://regarp.com/2019/12/24/review-of-apollo-8-the-mission-that-changed-everyt... show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Lists
Awards
The Dust Bowl Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Helped Remedy a National Disaster (2010)
The Story of American Photography: An Illustrated History for Young People (Language, Arts, and Crafts – 1980)
Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation: The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad (Sixth to Eighth Grade – 2016)
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Statistics
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- 60
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- #6,780
- Rating
- 4.0
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