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Michael F. Robinson

Goodreads Author

Genre

History, Science, Travel

Member Since

November 2012

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Michael F. Robinson is a professor of history at Hillyer College, University of Hartford. He is the author of The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006), winner of the 2008 Book Award for the History of Science in America, and The Lost White Tribe: Explorers, Scientists, and the Theory that Changed a Continent (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016) winner of the History of Science Society's Davis Prize.

Robinson has given lectures about his work at the American Museum of Natural History, The Explorers Club, The British Library, the Library of Congress, and NASA headquarters among others. He is a frequent guest on radio and television programs including American Experience, BB ...more

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Combine Editions
Michael F. Robinson’s books

Average rating: 3.88 · 64 ratings · 9 reviews · 2 distinct works

	The Lost White Tribe: Explorers, Scientists, and the Theory that Changed a Continent 3.88 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2016 — 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
	The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture 3.87 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2006 — 10 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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309 posts
Michael F. Robinson's Blog

Gems, Science, and Empire

17th century traders who traveled the sea routes between India and Southeast Asia were interested in spices, but they were also interested in gemstones, objects of desire, commercial value, and increasingly, scientific fascination. Claire Conklin Sabel talks about the gem trade in South and Southeast Asia, and the way this trade was impacted by European traders in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Robinson is currently reading

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)

by Tamsyn Muir (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 01, 2024 05:51AM

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Michael’s Recent Updates

Michael F. Robinson wrote a new blog post Gems, Science, and Empire 17th century traders who traveled the sea routes between India and Southeast Asia were interested in spices, but they were also interested in gemston Read more of this blog post »
Nov 14, 2025 04:17AM · like
Michael Robinson rated a book really liked it Audition by Katie Kitamura (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
Oct 14, 2025 06:21AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Audition by Katie Kitamura. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Audition by Katie Kitamura <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael Robinson rated a book liked it Translation State by Ann Leckie (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
I think Ann Leckie is an amazing writer. Her sci-fi does what sci-fi does best: create alternate worlds which challenge us to rethink our own world. Leckie does this masterfully with issues of gender, identity, and the meaning of individuality. Trans ...more
Jun 30, 2024 08:46PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Translation State by Ann Leckie. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Translation State by Ann Leckie <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael Robinson rated a book really liked it Watership Down (Watership Down, #1) by Richard Adams	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
So satisfying! I decided to re-read Watership Down, a book I loved as a 12-year old, but for which I remembered none of the details. Although it fits into the categories of juvenile or YA fiction, it has all of the elements of good adult fiction: hig ...more
Jun 12, 2024 04:01AM · like · see review
Michael Robinson rated a book it was amazing These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy, #1) by Bethany Jacobs (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
A banger of a first novel! The characters are well crafted and complex. The writing is tight. The world building is intricate, complicated, and well-thought out. The pacing of the book is very good too and the structure of the chapters oscilates betw ...more
May 21, 2024 03:39PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael Robinson is now following Bethany Jacobs Author of These Burning Stars (The Kindom Trilogy, #1)
May 21, 2024 03:35PM · like
Michael Robinson rated a book it was ok Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (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
There are a lot of things I respect about Prophet Song. It is highly relevant to our current moment describing the rise of a fascist government in a modern-day democracy. More than other dystopian political novels (e.g. 1984) it offers a very three-d ...more
Apr 17, 2024 09:11AM · like · see review
Michael Robinson is currently reading Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1) by Tamsyn Muir (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
Apr 01, 2024 05:51AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael Robinson is currently reading Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (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
Apr 01, 2024 05:50AM · like
Michael Robinson rated a book really liked it Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1) by John Scalzi (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
Old Man's War is funny and fast-paced, a hard sci-fi novel which nods to earlier works like Starship Trooper by Robert Heinlein. It also nods to Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) in so far as it describes a world in which augmented h ...more
Mar 30, 2024 08:29AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Old Man's War by John Scalzi <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">