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Michael Blanding

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.michaelblanding.com

Genre

Nonfiction, History, Crime

Influences

Erik Larson David Grann Naomi Klein Ted Conover Jon Krakauer Annie ...more

Member Since

January 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/michaelblanding

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Michael Blanding is a Boston-based investigative journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, Slate, Smithsonian, The Boston Globe Magazine, and Boston magazine. His newest book, The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: A Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation, is due out from PublicAffairs in July 2026. It is a revelatory account of how the family behind Hobby Lobby rose to political prominence and used their influence—and fortune—to push a radical religious agenda.

Blanding is also author of In Shakespeare's Shadow: A Rogue Scholar's Quest to Reveal the True Source Behind the World's Greatest Plays (2021), which won the International Book Award for Narrative Non-fiction; and The Map Thief: The Gripping Stor ...more

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Michael Blanding’s books

Average rating: 3.64 · 5,079 ratings · 870 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps 3.64 avg rating — 3,885 ratings — published 2014 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Coke Machine 3.36 avg rating — 674 ratings — published 2010 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation 3.99 avg rating — 281 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	North by Shakespeare: A Rogue Scholar's Quest for the Truth Behind the Bard's Work 3.83 avg rating — 212 ratings — published 2021 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moon Vermont (Moon Handbooks) by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author), Alexandra Hall really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2008 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moon Spotlight Providence by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author), Alexandra Hall 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moon New England (Moon Handbooks) by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author), Alexandra Hall really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moon Spotlight Massachusetts by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author), Alexandra Hall 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moon Spotlight Newport by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author), Alexandra Hall 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Moon Rhode Island (Moon Handbooks) by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author), Alexandra Hall 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Blanding is currently reading

Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart

by Krista Halverson

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Aug 15, 2021 03:25PM

Michael Blanding is currently reading

North by Shakespeare: A Rogue Scholar's Quest for the Truth Behind the Bard's Work

by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: shakespeare, narrative-nonfiction, thomas-north, currently-reading

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Mar 18, 2021 08:50AM

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Shakespeare and Game of Thrones

by Jeffrey R. Wilson

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mar 27, 2025 06:43PM

Michael’s Recent Updates

Michael Blanding and 2 other people liked Avid's review of The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation: "Once hobby lobby’s founder, david green, amassed a sufficient fortune to support his family for many generations to come (current net worth over $14B and counting), he turned over HL’s future earnings to a trust that supports christian nationalism ca" Read more of this review »
Oct 26, 2026 08:02AM · see review
Michael Blanding and 6 other people liked Nevin's review of The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation: "Coming from a mixed religious background, both parents being from two major faiths, I was reluctant to read this book. I was afraid there would be a lot of evangelical references to the bible which would make it a tedious read. However, it was quite " Read more of this review »
Oct 26, 2026 08:02AM · see review
Michael Blanding is now following Jennifer S. Brown and Adrienne Dillard
Oct 21, 2026 06:40PM
Michael Blanding and 2 other people liked Jennifer S. Brown's review of The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation: "Holy cow! I knew that I shouldn't shop at Hobby Lobby because of their refusal to provide reproductive health care for their employees. But I had no idea how far the Green family--the Hobby Lobby founder and family--were into turning the U.S. into a " Read more of this review »
Oct 21, 2026 06:40PM · see review
Michael Blanding and 2 other people liked Adrienne Dillard's review of The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation: "A few days after I began reading, I came across a post on Bluesky referencing Jesus' scourging of the temple. The original poster conjured the image of Christ methodically braiding the whip: how much time that would have consumed and the toll it migh" Read more of this review »
Oct 13, 2026 07:59PM · see review
Michael Blanding rated a book it was amazing The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 24, 2026 02:46AM · like
Michael Blanding has read Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 09, 2026 08:33AM · 1 like · like
Michael Blanding is 50% done with The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation by Michael Blanding (Goodreads Author) progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2026 05:56AM · like · see status
Michael Blanding wants to read The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail by Eric Jay Dolin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 06, 2026 03:13AM · like