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Charles Robbins

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York, The United States

Website

http://www.chasrobbins.com

Twitter

CharlesTRobbins

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Politics, Historical Fiction

Member Since

January 2012

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Charles Robbins longed to write professionally from the time his grade-school classmates aspired to play professional baseball, voyage to the moon, or fight fires. He was elected editor-in-chief of The Nassau Literary Review, America’s oldest continuously published literary magazine, at Princeton and wrote a novel for a senior thesis. He also captained the judo team and competed on both the collegiate and amateur circuits.

After college, writing novels seemed professionally impractical, so Charles went into journalism. He earned a master’s from Columbia University, covered police and politics for the Omaha World-Herald, and then served as a political reporter, columnist and editor for the Ottaway chain in New York.

In 1992, eager for a more d Charles Robbins longed to write professionally from the time his grade-school classmates aspired to play professional baseball, voyage to the moon, or fight fires. He was elected editor-in-chief of The Nassau Literary Review, America’s oldest continuously published literary magazine, at Princeton and wrote a novel for a senior thesis. He also captained the judo team and competed on both the collegiate and amateur circuits.

After college, writing novels seemed professionally impractical, so Charles went into journalism. He earned a master’s from Columbia University, covered police and politics for the Omaha World-Herald, and then served as a political reporter, columnist and editor for the Ottaway chain in New York.

In 1992, eager for a more direct role in politics, he moved to Washington as press secretary for a Pennsylvania congressman. Five months later, the congressman lost his seat – Charles was not solely responsible – and Charles landed with Iowa Congressman Fred Grandy, a Harvard honors grad and classical stage actor who was best known as a star of the TV sitcom The Love Boat. With instructions to “bridge the Gopher gap; to show Iowans there’s a long-pants version of Fred Grandy,” Robbins ran the press shop for Grandy’s gubernatorial campaign. They nearly unseated a three-term incumbent.

Now with statewide Iowa experience, Robbins signed on as communications director for a presidential campaign -- of Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. Specter, a former Philadelphia DA, was then best known as author of the Single Bullet Theory on President Kennedy’s assassination and for his tough questioning of Prof. Anita Hill at Justice Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearings. As a colleague put it, Specter was best known for believing a theory that everyone doubted and doubting a woman that everyone believed. Ultimately, Specter’s campaign ran out of money weeks shy of the Iowa caucuses.

Charles spent much of the next three years collaborating with Specter on what would become Passion for Truth, a memoir on some watershed moments in 20th Century American history, interviewing sources including President Ford, Cuban President Fidel Castro, and the Kennedy trauma and autopsy surgeons.

After that, he ran press shops for a major communications company and a federal agency. Along the way, he earned a direct commission as a Navy reserve officer and ran departments at Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., and at Pentagon-based Navy Chief of Information; wrote speeches for the Secretary of the Navy; and served underway on submarines, among other duties. His official fitness report from the Navy Secretary’s office began: “LT Charles Robbins is an exceptionally talented officer -- by far the best, most productive Reservist to serve on SecNav Public Affairs staff in memory . . . ”

In early 2005, Charles began a low-residence master’s program in creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte, a premier program. With an overloaded work and writing schedule, Robbins made an agonizing decision to leave the Navy.

At Queens, he wrote chapters of what would become The Accomplice. In May 2010, as he was shopping the novel, Sen. Specter lost his seat in a primary and he and Robbins began collaborating on a second non-fiction book, this one on Specter’s party switch and campaign and the death of the political center. Life Among the Cannibals came out in March 2012.

Tom Dunne, of Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press, published The Accomplice, and offered Charles a chance to collaborate with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle on a high-end civics book about the Senate. The U.S. Senate is scheduled for release in January 2013. ...more

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Charles Robbins's Blog

The Accomplice -- Professional Reviews

Thought it might be helpful to share some professional reviews on The Accomplice, as folks consider reading it:

“. . . A riveting look at how love, lust, and murder can derail a presidential campaign. . . In the current campaign season, this thriller is a must read.”
-- Publishers Weekly (Starred, Boxed Review)

"Providing an insider's sharp-eyed look into the exciting and seamy aspects of high-st... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on October 01, 2012 13:24

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Combine Editions
Charles Robbins’s books

Average rating: 3.21 · 126 ratings · 30 reviews · 4 distinct works

	The Accomplice 3.08 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2012 — 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
	The U.S. Senate: Fundamentals of American Government by Tom Daschle, Charles Robbins (Goodreads Author) 3.24 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2013 — 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
	Life Among the Cannibals: A Political Career, a Tea Party Uprising, and the End of Governing As We Know It by Arlen Specter, Charles Robbins (Goodreads Author) 3.17 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2012 — 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
	Passion for Truth: From Finding JFK's Single Bullet to Questioning Anita Hill to Impeaching Clinton by Arlen Specter, Charles Robbins (Goodreads Author) 3.57 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2000 — 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

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

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In One Person

by John Irving (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 17, 2012 12:33PM

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Angler

by Barton Gellman

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Sep 17, 2012 12:32PM

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Charles Robbins is now friends with Evelyn Moy
Jun 18, 2019 10:20PM · like
Charles Robbins has read The Laughing Monsters 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
Aug 12, 2016 01:30PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Charles Robbins rated a book really liked it Suspicion by Joseph Finder (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
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Charles Robbins rated a book it was amazing The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow	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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Charles Robbins rated a book it was amazing Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (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
Extraordinary -- a gripping tale, and a tour de force of character, pacing and plot.
Aug 10, 2016 05:47PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mystic River by Dennis Lehane <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Charles Robbins rated a book liked it Prayer by Philip Kerr	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 10, 2016 05:45PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Prayer by Philip Kerr. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Prayer by Philip Kerr <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Charles Robbins rated a book it was amazing L.A. Confidential (L.A. Quartet, #3) by James Ellroy	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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Charles Robbins rated a book it was amazing A Ticket to the Boneyard (Matthew Scudder, #8) by Lawrence Block (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
Matthew Scudder is one of my all-time favorite literary characters -- I've read nearly all of Block's novels in the series -- and this book was one of his best.
Aug 10, 2016 05:43PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Ticket to the Boneyard by Lawrence Block. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Ticket to the Boneyard by Lawrence Block <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Charles Robbins rated a book really liked it Doors Open by Ian Rankin (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 10, 2016 05:41PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Doors Open by Ian Rankin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Doors Open by Ian Rankin <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Charles Robbins has read Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews (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
First, a disclaimer: The author is a college classmate and friend, so I am not unbiased. I began the novel with a sense of obligation, and it immediately hooked me and kept its grip. Some of the scenes and characters still resonate, years later. For ...more
Aug 10, 2016 05:40PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">