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David’s Year In Books

David’s 2024 Year in Books

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2025 Reading Challenge

2025

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David Spanagel has read 17 of 25 books.

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David I. Spanagel

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Born

Cleveland, The United States

Member Since

August 2013

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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 — 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
	[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

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David is Currently Reading

David Spanagel is currently reading

Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and Don’t Know about the Ocean

by Naomi Oreskes

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Aug 13, 2025 12:06PM

David Spanagel is currently reading

Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk

by S. Frederick Starr

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Aug 11, 2025 02:29PM

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Colour of Paradise: The Emerald in the Age of Gunpowder Empires

by Kris Lane

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Aug 01, 2025 12:22PM

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David Spanagel is 10% 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
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David Spanagel is on page 64 of 280 of Colour of Paradise Colour of Paradise: The Emerald in the Age of Gunpowder Empires by Kris Lane 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
Aug 17, 2025 03:21PM · like · see status
David Spanagel is currently reading Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and Don’t Know about the Ocean by Naomi Oreskes	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
Aug 13, 2025 12:06PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Science on a Mission by Naomi Oreskes. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Science on a Mission by Naomi Oreskes <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel is currently reading Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk by S. Frederick Starr	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
Aug 11, 2025 02:29PM · like
David Spanagel rated a book it was amazing Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera by Lucy Caplan	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
What a rare joy! To read this book is to enter an impeccable work of historical scholarship, one that is so beautifully composed and richly informed by contemporaneous critical literature, the distinctive cultural insights of Black and of white persp ...more
Aug 11, 2025 12:47PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dreaming in Ensemble by Lucy Caplan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dreaming in Ensemble by Lucy Caplan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book it was amazing The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science by John Tresch	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
This brilliant volume seamlessly achieves two daring ambitions simultaneously. Consistent with its advertised categories, Tresch's account provides a richly detailed literary critical biography of the poetry and prose writings of Edgar Allan Poe, thr ...more
Aug 10, 2025 11:06AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Reason for the Darkness of the Night by John Tresch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Reason for the Darkness of the Night by John Tresch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book really liked it The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name by Toby Lester (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
Aug 06, 2025 12:52PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel is currently reading 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
Aug 01, 2025 12:22PM · like
David Spanagel is currently reading The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard	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 31, 2025 05:46AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The River of Doubt by Candice Millard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The River of Doubt by Candice Millard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book really liked it James by Percival Everett	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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