Great Plains Studies announces Distinguished Book Prize finalists

            The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has announced the finalists for this year's Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize.

            The six books selected by a panel of judges are:

• "Where the West Begins: Debating Texas Identity," by Glen Sample Ely with foreword by Alwyn Barr (Texas Tech University Press);
• "Principle over Party: The Farmers' Alliance and Populism in South Dakota, 1880-1900," by R. Alton Lee (South Dakota State Historical Society Press);
• "The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory," by James N. Leiker and Ramon Powers (University of Oklahoma Press);
• "Sustaining the Cherokee Family: Kinship and the Allotment of an Indigenous Nation," by Rose Stremlau (The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill);
• "The Notorious Dr. Flippin: Abortion and Consequence in the Early 20th Century," by Jamie Q. Tallman with foreword by Harriet A. Washington (Texas Tech University Press); and
• "Will Rogers: A Political Life," by Richard D. White Jr. (Texas Tech University Press).

            In "Where the West Begins," Ely offers a challenging new interpretation of which areas form West Texas, making sense of Lone Star identity west of the 100th meridian and defining Texas' place in the American West. Ely's award-winning documentaries have appeared on PBS, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel. A Ph.D. graduate of Texas Christian University, Ely lives in Fort Worth, Texas. Barr, one of Texas' most prolific historians, is retired from the department of history at Texas Tech University.

            "Principle over Party" examines the Populist movement in South Dakota, focusing on prominent political figures who promoted progressive agrarian politics that dominated the state in the 1890s. Lee is professor emeritus of history at the University of South Dakota. An acknowledged expert on American political history, Lee has written widely about Midwestern and Great Plains history, including pioneers of public health policies.

            In "The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory," Leiker and Powers explore the ways in which the Northern Cheyenne's dramatic and bloody 1878-79 trek home has been remembered, told and retold. The authors examine recollections of Indians and settlers, and of their descendants, to see how they recount these events, and why. Leiker is associate professor of history at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan. He is also the author of "Racial Borders: Black Soldiers along the Rio Grande." Ramon Powers is the former executive director of the Kansas State Historical Society.

            During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the federal government sought to forcibly assimilate Native Americans through land allotment. In "Sustaining the Cherokee Family," Stremlau illuminates the impact of this policy on the Cherokee Nations, particularly within individual families and communities in modern-day northeastern Oklahoma. Stremlau is assistant professor of history and American Indian studies at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Her book is a First Peoples book, part of a special publishing initiative among four scholarly presses funded by the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.

            The first book to focus on attitudes toward abortion in early 20th-century rural communities, "The Notorious Dr. Flippin" details the doctor's extraordinary life and analyzes the forces behind the prosecution of the aging African-American physician. Tallman, who specializes in local and regional history, came upon the story of Dr. Charles Flippin while researching Flippin's son, George, the University of Nebraska's first African-American football player. Tallman lives in Lincoln. Washington, author of numerous articles on medicine and science for popular periodicals, lives in Albany, N.Y.

            In "Will Rogers," White argues that the nation's most popular entertainer, newspaper columnist and radio commentator was not only an incisive political commentator but also a significant influence on national leaders and their decisions. White, a former senior officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and icebreaker captain, is professor of public administration at Louisiana State University. He is also the author of "Roosevelt the Reformer: Theodore Roosevelt as Civil Service commissioner, 1889-1895."

            The winner of the $5,000 cash prize will be announced May 2. The author will be invited to travel to UNL to present a lecture on the topic of the book. Only first-edition, full-length, nonfiction books published and copyrighted in 2011 were evaluated for the award. Nominations were made by publishers or authors.

            The Center for Great Plains Studies is an interdisciplinary, intercollegiate, regional research and teaching program chartered in 1976 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Its mission is to promote a greater understanding of the people, culture, history, and environment of the Great Plains through a variety of research, teaching, and outreach programs. For more information, contact the Center for Great Plains Studies at 402-472-3082 or visit its website, www.unl.edu/plains.

Writer: Linda Ratcliffe, Center for Great Plains Studies, 402-472-3965