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Justin’s Year In Books

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Justin Martin

Goodreads Author

Born

in Lafayette, Indiana, The United States

Website

http://www.justinmartin1.com

Twitter

JustinMartinNYC

Genre

Nonfiction, History, Children's

Influences

The following are influences because I love their writing, not because ...more

Member Since

June 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/justinmartin

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My latest is A Fierce Glory, out in September (Da Capo Press). It's a group biography treatment of Antietam, the Civil War's pivotal battle, still America's single bloodiest day. The rich cast includes: Robert E. Lee, pioneering war photographer Alexander Gardner, and Jonathan Letterman, the father of battlefield medicine. Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation are woven into my account far more than in a typical military history of Antietam.

My specialty is American history, meticulously researched, but delivered in a narrative style that’s akin to fiction. My previous book was Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America’s First Bohemians (Da Capo, 2014) about a decadent and incredibly influential artists’ circle that hung out at Pfaff’s saloo My latest is A Fierce Glory, out in September (Da Capo Press). It's a group biography treatment of Antietam, the Civil War's pivotal battle, still America's single bloodiest day. The rich cast includes: Robert E. Lee, pioneering war photographer Alexander Gardner, and Jonathan Letterman, the father of battlefield medicine. Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation are woven into my account far more than in a typical military history of Antietam.

My specialty is American history, meticulously researched, but delivered in a narrative style that’s akin to fiction. My previous book was Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America’s First Bohemians (Da Capo, 2014) about a decadent and incredibly influential artists’ circle that hung out at Pfaff’s saloon in NYC during the 1850s. Among its members: a young Walt Whitman; Artemus Ward, America’s first standup comic; psychedelic drug pioneer Fitz Hugh Ludlow; and Adah Isaacs Menken, an actress notorious for her “"Naked Lady" act. Rebel Souls, chosen as the outstanding biography of 2014 by the Victoria Society, New York, and as a finalist for the Marfield Prize, was also picked as one of the best books of that year by both the Kansas City Star and Choice magazine.

Before that, I wrote Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (Da Capo, 2011). Genius tells the story of one of the most important figures in the history of America. Olmsted was a fervent abolitionist, noted journalist, Civil War hero, early environmentalist, and the landscape architect behind New York's Central Park, Boston's Emerald Necklace, Stanford University, the Biltmore Estate and dozens of other green spaces around the U.S.

Other subjects have included Alan Greenspan and Ralph Nader. My Greenspan bio was selected as a notable book for 2001 by the New York Times Book Review. My Nader bio was a primary source for An Unreasonable Man, an Academy Award nominated documentary. I have also written a number of children's books for use in the classroom, everything from biographies to fractured fairy tales to titles designed to help young readers learn parts of speech. I'm a generalist. I love to write on varied subjects for both kids and adults.

I'm a 1987 graduate of Rice University in Houston, TX. I live with my wife and twin sons in Forest Hills Gardens, NY, a neighborhood designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.
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Justin Martin’s books

Average rating: 4.25 · 1,770 ratings · 282 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted 4.35 avg rating — 1,205 ratings — published 2011 — 13 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
	Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America's First Bohemians (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) 4.14 avg rating — 244 ratings — published 2014 — 6 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
	A Fierce Glory: Antietam--The Desperate Battle That Saved Lincoln and Doomed Slavery 4.29 avg rating — 166 ratings — published 2018 — 6 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
	Nader: Crusader, Spoiler, Icon 3.88 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 2002 — 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
	Greenspan: The Man Behind Money 3.48 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 2000 — 8 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
	Teach your Kid How to Hit a Baseball Like an All-Star - A Complete Baseball Batting Instruction Guide it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 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
	Unknown Book 12394531 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Science Vocabulary Readers-Life Cycles Pack (Science Vocabulary Readers, 1-6) by Jeff Bauer, Justin Martin (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2007	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 Human Body Science Vocabulary Readers 6-Book Set: The Amazing Human Body, Your Brain, Your Eyes and Ears, Your Heart, Your Mouth and Nose, and Your Skin and Bones by Lydia Carlin (2008-05-03) by Lydia Carlin, Megan Duhamel, Ruby J. Jameson 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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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Justin Martin rated a book did not like it The Hellbound Heart (Hellraiser #1) by Clive Barker (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
Feb 27, 2026 11:32AM · like
Justin Martin wants to read The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne	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
Feb 26, 2026 10:56AM · like
Justin Martin wants to read Train Dreams by Denis Johnson	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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Justin Martin rated a book really liked it Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice 1967-1975 by Richard Thompson	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
Feb 23, 2026 03:57AM · 1 like · like
Justin Martin wants to read Looking Backward: 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy	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
Feb 04, 2026 06:32PM · like
Justin Martin rated a book really liked it Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (Neapolitan Novels, #3) by Elena Ferrante	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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Justin Martin wants to read Walden Two (Hackett Classics) by B.F. Skinner	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
Feb 04, 2026 06:31PM · like
Justin Martin finished reading Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (Neapolitan Novels, #3) by Elena Ferrante	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
Feb 04, 2026 06:31PM · like
Justin Martin rated a book really liked it The Overstory by Richard Powers	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
Jan 18, 2026 02:52PM · like
Justin Martin rated a book really liked it Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell	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
Jan 05, 2026 10:32AM · like

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Quotes by Justin Martin (?)

“The Rebel plan was to sow chaos and more chaos, though some of the ploys were remarkably subtle. For example, a Union loss at Antietam might”
― Justin Martin, A Fierce Glory: Antietam—The Desperate Battle That Saved Lincoln and Doomed Slavery

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“sartorial”
― Justin Martin, Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Book Nook Cafe: The Devil in the White City ~ Sept. 2011	234	145	Nov 06, 2011 05:41AM
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The Reading For P...: What's On Your Monthly TBR-August 2020?	61	41	Oct 01, 2020 03:17PM
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