264 ratings | 85 reviews | avg rating:3.48

David’s Year In Books

David’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at David’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to David’s 2025 Year in Books

David I. Spanagel’s Followers (10)

David’s Bookshelves

to-read (20)
currently-reading (5)
read (278)

David’s Friends (136)

Kat's Bookshelf

1,052 books | 49 friends

Katie Kemple

244 books | 89 friends

Julia

1,031 books | 51 friends

Kiri

762 books | 63 friends

Dru Tarr

261 books | 13 friends

Ethan Keller

153 books | 114 friends

Jozie Ewart

41 books | 16 friends

Michelle

40 books | 98 friends

More friends…

2026 Reading Challenge

2026

READING

CHALLENGE

David Spanagel has read 0 of 26 books.

David I. Spanagel

Goodreads Author

Born

Cleveland, The United States

Member Since

August 2013

edit data

David Spanagel is an Associate Professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Arts at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass. His college teaching career began at the tender age of 23, when he was hired full-time to teach mathematics and computer science at St. John Fisher College, in Rochester, NY. Ph.D. work in the History of Science at Harvard University shifted his attention from mathematics to the history of the earth sciences, but he remains interested in all areas of science, technology, politics, and society.

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask David I. Spanagel questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

David I. Spanagel If I need to get my juices flowing on any particular day (and the place I had most recently left off composing is not already pressing me to return th…moreIf I need to get my juices flowing on any particular day (and the place I had most recently left off composing is not already pressing me to return there), I may start a writing session by reviewing material that was written and set aside some days before to rest and review later. If a distinct feeling of not knowing where to begin (especially on a newer project), my favorite solution is to being the day by writing a personal message (or even writing an old-fashioned letter) to a friend or relative who has not heard from me in some time, and somewhere during the course of that message I will attempt to broach the subject of my current writing project (at an appropriate level of generality for the designated recipient of the message). This move always helps to overcome any fluency obstacles for writing as an activity, per se, and often also reminds me of what is the principal value or main purpose/idea of the thing I am struggling to start writing. (less)

flag

like
Comment

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

David I. Spanagel In my opinion, the very best thing about being a writer is that your ideas have the opportunity to reach and affect more people than you can through p…moreIn my opinion, the very best thing about being a writer is that your ideas have the opportunity to reach and affect more people than you can through personal contact. Ironically, however, the very best feeling I ever get as a writer is to connect (or reconnect) with someone personally, and to discover through conversation that they have read my work, and found it interesting or at least memorable for some reason. Ultimately, the benefits of any extended reach of writing (as a preservation or dissemination technology for ideas) must ordinarily be taken on faith, since the act of confirming its value through direct interaction requires the same opportunity as getting to share an idea through conversation would in the first place. (less)

flag

like
Comment

See 2 answers from David I. Spanagel…

Combine Editions
David I. Spanagel’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 8 ratings · 0 reviews · 2 distinct works

	DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton: Geology and Power in Early New York 4.13 avg rating — 8 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
	[DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton: Geology and Power in Early New York] [By: Spanagel, David I.] [April, 2014] by David I. Spanagel (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 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

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

David is Currently Reading

David Spanagel is currently reading

The Dragon's Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Age (Culture and Politics in the Cold War and Beyond)

by Robert A. Jacobs

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Dec 19, 2025 02:04PM

David Spanagel is currently reading

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created

by Charles C. Mann

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Dec 16, 2025 05:37PM

David Spanagel is currently reading

Galileo's Dream

by Kim Stanley Robinson

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Dec 15, 2025 05:26PM

rss
David’s Recent Updates

David Spanagel is 54% done with Bamboula! Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk by S. Frederick Starr 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
23 hours, 5 min ago · like · see status
David Spanagel is on page 138 of 578 of Galileo's Dream Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson 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
Jan 02, 2026 01:43PM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jan 01, 2026 11:34AM · 1 like · like · view books
Jan 01, 2026 11:33AM · like
David Spanagel rated a book liked it The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters by Thomas M. Nichols	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
Dec 31, 2025 03:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Death of Expertise by Thomas M. Nichols. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Death of Expertise by Thomas M. Nichols <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book liked it Colour of Paradise: The Emerald in the Age of Gunpowder Empires by Kris Lane	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
Dec 27, 2025 02:13PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Colour of Paradise by Kris Lane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Colour of Paradise by Kris Lane <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book liked it By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho (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
Dec 27, 2025 07:55AM · like
David Spanagel is currently reading The Dragon's Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Age (Culture and Politics in the Cold War and Beyond) by Robert A. Jacobs	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
Dec 19, 2025 02:04PM · like
David Spanagel is currently reading 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann	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
Dec 16, 2025 05:37PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of 1493 by Charles C. Mann. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — 1493 by Charles C. Mann <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel is currently reading Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson	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
Dec 15, 2025 05:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">