Maurizio Valsania Wins the 2023 George Washington Prize

Maurizio Valsania has been awarded the 2023 George Washington Prize for his book First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity (Johns Hopkins University Press). One of the nation’s largest and most prestigious book awards, now in its nineteenth year, the George Washington Prize honors its namesake by recognizing the year’s best new books on the nation’s founding era, especially those that have the potential to advance a broad public understanding of early American history. The prize includes a $50,000 award for the winner.

Conferred by George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and Washington College, the award was presented during a special event at the Union Club in New York City on September 21. More information about the George Washington Prize and a video of highlights from the evening are available here.

In First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity, Valsania considers Washington’s complexity and apparent contradictions in three main areas: his physical life (often bloody, cold, injured, muddy, or otherwise unpleasant), his emotional world (sentimental, loving, and affectionate), and his social persona (carefully constructed and maintained). In each, he notes, the reality diverges from the legend quite drastically. Ultimately, Valsania challenges readers to reconsider what they think they know about Washington.

An independent jury evaluated between 50 and 100 books published in the past year that explore the history of the American founding era. The jury chose three other finalists, who were also honored at the award ceremony on September 21: Mary Sarah Bilder for Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution (University of Virginia Press); Fred Kaplan for His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer (Harper); and Stacy Schiff for The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams (Little, Brown and Company).