Authors
Focus on Washington’s Military Career, Franklin’s
Diplomacy, and Britain’s Stakes
Out of a field of nearly 50 books on America’s founding
era published during 2005, three finalists have been named
today for the 2006 George Washington Book Prize. At $50,000,
it is the nation’s largest book prize for early
American history. Presented by Washington College, the
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and George
Washington’s Mount Vernon, the prize was launched
in 2005 to recognize published works contributing to a
greater understanding of the life and career of George
Washington and/or the founding era. This year’s
finalists are General George Washington: A Military
Life by Edward Lengel (Random House), A Great
Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America
by Stacy Schiff (Henry Holt), and Iron Tears: America’s
Battle for Freedom, Britain’s Quagmire: 1775-1783
by Stanley Weintraub (Free Press). The winner of last
year’s prize—the inaugural award—was
Ron Chernow for Alexander Hamilton.
Finalists were selected by a jury of distinguished
scholars of early American history, including Carol
Berkin of Baruch College, Walter Isaacson of the Aspen
Institute, and Gordon Wood of Brown University. “In
each work selected, the jury saw refreshing perspectives
on our nation’s founding era,” said historian
Ted Widmer, director of Washington College’s C.
V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience,
which administers the prize. “Although only one
book will be selected for the award, all are worthy
of special attention.”
At $50,000, the George Washington Book Prize is one
of the largest non-fiction prizes in the United States.
The winner will be announced during ceremonies on Tuesday,
May 23, 2006, at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
Estate and Gardens in Virginia.
For more information on the George Washington Book Prize,
visit:
http://gwprize.washcoll.edu/
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