Picture of author.
54+ Works 4,432 Members 106 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Albert Marrin, professor emeritus of history at Yeshiva University in New York City
Image credit: Albert Marrin (right) at the 2008 National Humanities Medal award ceremony. White House photo by Chris Greenberg

Works by Albert Marrin

Hitler (1987) 239 copies
Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel (1988) — Author — 238 copies
Victory in the Pacific (1983) 126 copies
FDR and the American Crisis (1800) 79 copies
Sitting Bull and His World (2000) 74 copies
Mao Tse-Tung and His China (1989) 62 copies
1812: The War Nobody Won (1985) 55 copies
Saving The Buffalo (2006) 51 copies
Aztecs and Spaniards (1986) 41 copies
Secrets from the Rocks (2002) 33 copies
The Spanish-American War (1991) 32 copies
Sir Norman Angell (1979) 3 copies

Associated Works

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (2008) — Contributor — 349 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1936-07-24
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Places of residence
New York, New York, USA
Riverdale, New York, USA
Education
Yeshiva University
Columbia University
City College of New York
Occupations
historian
professor
Organizations
Yeshiva University (Chairman of History Department)
Awards and honors
National Humanities Medal (2008)
Washington Children's Book Guild and Washington Post Non-Fiction Award (Lifetime contribution)
Agent
Wendy Schmalz
Short biography
From Prof. Marrin's website: Years ago, I taught social studies for nine years in a junior high school in the East Bronx in New York City. On some days, when the class was restless, I would declare "story time," and tell adventure stories from history, such as Custer’s "last stand" and Sir Henry Morgan the buccaneer.

After graduate school, I became a college teacher. Professors are supposed to "publish or perish," write books and articles to gain promotion and tenure. I had no intention of perishing. I wrote four scholarly books, all well received in the profession. That was nice, and I was pleased. But I was not thrilled. I wanted to reach a larger audience, not as a scholar but as a storyteller. Actually, I wanted connect what I knew as a teacher with how I felt as a storyteller. So I began to write history for younger readers. I tried to write in the most interesting way I could, all the while remaining true to the facts. It worked. So far I have written more than forty books for young readers. Though now retired from teaching, I spend much of my time reading, listening to music – and especially writing more books.

Members

Reviews

I almost skipped this book because....rats.

But, wow. This was so interesting, and I have a better understanding of rats. Will I still be horrified if I ever come across a wild rat? Absolutely. Will I ever be open to eating a rat? Nope.

But I can appreciate them a little bit more than I did before I read this book.

Not to mention, the art is beautifully haunting.
 
Flagged
mrsandersonreads23 | 18 other reviews | Apr 14, 2024 |
I don't know what to say about this, except I wasn't very impressed by it and I don't understand why it's on the shortlist for the National Book Award. I did learn a lot from it, but I didn't find the writing especially compelling. I also thought the title was misleading, as this isn't a book about the Triangle Fire so much as a book about immigration, labor rights, workplace safety, and the garment industry. I realize that those issues surround the Triangle Fire and it's necessary to talk about them when you talk about the Triangle Fire, but so few pages were spent on the actual Fire--that's why I call the title misleading.

I think my expectations were too high going into this. I expected something on par with [b:They Called Themselves the KKK] (which was truly brilliant) and instead got what I'd call a better-than-average non-fiction book for young people.

So if you're studying how industry, unions, and workers' rights evolved in the United States, this would be a great book to pick up. If you just want to read really great non-fiction, I'd look elsewhere.
… (more)
 
Flagged
LibrarianDest | 25 other reviews | Jan 3, 2024 |
Reason Read: ROOT, alpha M, TIOLI #11
A book about espionage or Cold War. This book covers both espionage (section on Rosenberg) and the cold war from the time period of Red October to the current century. It is written for young adults.
I received it free from the summer program of AudioFile Sync. Subjects covered Lenin, the Communist Party of the United States, Communism and Black Comrades, Stalin, Atomic Bombs and Spies, Rosenberg Spy Ring, Joe McCarthy.

I think this was a good resource book that would be a good one to get the written book (I listened to the audiobook) as a resource. I am again taken by surprise that what we are experiencing now is not new but is more in our face because journalist who are seeking endorsement by advertisers (money), TV reports that seek viewers to obtain advertiser dollars, social media which is totally suspect as a source of information which is driven by ideology rather than critical thinking; progressive, liberal ideology.… (more)
 
Flagged
Kristelh | 1 other review | Aug 26, 2023 |
Ugh! I hate rats! That being said, I still managed to get through this book. Excellent (and grossly excellent) information. I still hate rats, though.
 
Flagged
RobertaLea | 18 other reviews | Apr 22, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
54
Also by
1
Members
4,432
Popularity
#5,652
Rating
4.0
Reviews
106
ISBNs
157
Languages
2
Favorited
2

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