Palitz & Robbins
MAGAZINES
Audubon
Taking charge of the acclaimed conservation magazine, Robbins oversaw a complete redesign and reorganization, including hiring a new staff and charting a fresh editorial direction focused on environmental issues. One year later, Audubon garnered a National Magazine Award nomination for general excellence.
Military History
One of ten magazines acquired in 2006 by the Weider History Group, Military History was the first to be redesigned and completely revamped editorially. Robbins was hired to guide that transition, with fresh subjects, new approaches, new writers and improved photography. In 2008, Military History was recognized by ASME with a National Magazine Award general excellence nomination.
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal
of Military History
Building on the seven-year success of Military History, Robbins moved to the editorship of MHQ, the Weider Group’s award-winning flagship magazine. As a respected combination of scholarly journal and newsstand success, it is widely recognized as the nation’s leading publication in its field.
Oceans
Robbins was hired to acquire and reposition Oceans from a nonprofit journal to a profit-sector, consumer bimonthly, develop a complete editorial plan, hire a new staff and develop a stable of writers for subjects including sailing, diving, world travel, environmental issues, and maritime history and art.
IA
IA, the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology was established after the forming of the SIA in 1971 (Robbins was a charter member and served as IA editor). Now in its 40th year, it is the forum for research on our technological and industrial past. Each issue contains scholarly articles, essays and book reviews.
BOOKS
Zero to Hero: From Bullied Kid to Warrior
By Allen J. Lynch, Pritzker Military Museum
& Library
The odyssey of an aimless young man who, after an ordinary boyhood in a Chicago-area blue-collar family, joined the U.S. Army in a quest to find himself. While serving in Germany in 1967, Lynch voluntarily transferred to Vietnam and joined the First Cavalry Division as an infantryman. During a sharp firefight, he braved enemy fire to rescue three wounded troopers, for which he was awarded a Medal of Honor. That award changed his outlook and, despite years of PTSD and other obstacles, Lynch successfully dedicated his life to serving his fellow veterans.
The Kayak Companion
In 2003, Robbins, an experienced hiker, skier and outdoors writer, was invited by Storey Publishing. to edit a line of illustrated individual outdoor sports “experience” books, to follow his own Storey book, The Hiking Experience. Next published was The Kayak Companion, written by competitive whitewater kayaker and two-time member of the U.S. National Marathon Kayak Team, Joe Glickman, who underscores his lessons on boats, techniques, navigation and safety with accounts of his competition adventures.
Dignity of Duty: The Journals
of Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath
In the spring of 1861, President Lincoln called for volunteer militias to put down the Southern “insurrection.” One talented 21-year-old law student who answered that call became a lieutenant in the nascent 20th Indiana Regiment. Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath took to military life and fought in 21 Civil War battles, rose to the rank of Lt. Col. He served during Reconstruction, on the Western frontier, and in the Spanish-American War. Throughout his life, Gilbreath wrote a journal that is a vivid firsthand account of America’s strife and growth in the 19th century.
Wild Moments
By Ted Williams, 2004
Ted Williams has long been one of the most prolific, respected and delightful nature essayists in America. He has been, at the same time, one of our best environmental reporters, with his articles and columns in Audubon magazine setting a national standard for trenchant and courageous probing of green issues.
In this collection of Williams’ most informative and graceful seasonal observation columns—each one a polished gem––shows why nature is so often a matter of wonder.
The Snowshoe Experience
Third in Storey Publishing’s first-person outdoor sports books was The Snowshoe Experience, written by Claire Walter, a Colorado-based prolific author of some two dozen books on winter and summer sports. Walter not only introduces the gear and the essential how-to’s of the sport, but also reviews the great winter-trekking sites at resorts and on public lands from coast to coast.