The authors of two acclaimed books, a biography chronicling the life of William James and an ecological history of the American South, have won the Bancroft Prize for 2007: Robert D. Richardson for William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism (Houghton Mifflin) and Jack Temple Kirby for Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South (University of North Carolina).
The prize, which includes an award of $10,000 to each author, is administered by the Columbia University Libraries.
“Over 200 books were nominated for consideration by the Bancroft jury this year,” said University Librarian James Neal. “Once again, we were very impressed by the number of excellent submissions covering a broad range of themes and are proud to honor this year’s winners. The Bancroft Prize is a celebration and affirmation of historical scholarship, the library, the book, the academic press and the reportedly threatened scholarly monograph.”
