Great Plains Studies announces Distinguished Book Prize finalists

Released on 04/15/2015, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Lincoln, Neb., April 15th, 2015 —

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

The four books selected by a panel of judges are "American Carnage: Wounded Knee 1890" by Jerome A. Greene (University of Oklahoma Press); "Charles M. Russell: Photographing the Legend" by Larry Len Peterson (University of Oklahoma Press); "Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People" by Elizabeth A. Fenn (Hill and Wang); and "Wild Again: The Struggle to Save the Black-Footed Ferret" by David Jachowski.

"American Carnage" is a comprehensive account of the tragedy at Wounded Knee where some 200 Lakota were killed in a volley of gunfire. Greene draws on previously unknown testimonies to paint a picture of the event from both the Native and non-Native perspectives. Greene is a retired research historian for the National Parks Service.

"Charles M. Russell" is a biography of this premier "Cowboy Artist" as viewed through the lens of photography and portraiture. The work features several never-before-published photographs of Russell and an extensive text that examines the role of photos in selling and promoting his art. Peterson, of Plentywood, Mont., is an expert on art of the American West and recipient of two Western Heritage Awards.

In "Encounters at the Heart of the World," Fenn pieces together the history of the Mandan Indians, famous for their encounters with Lewis and Clark. It examines several aspects of their history from anthropological findings and archaeology to geology and climatology. Fenn is an associate professor at the University of Colorado and holds the Walter and Lucienne Driskill Chair in Western American History.

In "Wild Again," Jachowski draws on more than a decade of experience working to save the endangered black-footed ferret, one of North America's rarest mammals. He examines the ecological, social and political challenges conservationists faced in a remarkable recovery effort. Jachowski is an assistant professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University and a former wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helping to coordinate black-footed ferret recovery efforts.

The Stubbendieck Distinguished Book Prize celebrates the most outstanding scholarship about the Great Plains during the past year.

"This has been an exceptionally good year in Great Plains scholarship," said Richard Edwards, director of the Center for Great Plains Studies. "The judges have a tough decision ahead of them."

The winner of the $10,000 cash prize will be announced May 6. The author will be invited to travel to UNL to present a lecture on the book's topic. Only first-edition, full-length, nonfiction books published and copyrighted in 2014 were evaluated for the award. Nominations were made by publishers or authors.

For more information about the award or the Center for Great Plains Studies, visit http://www.unl.edu/plains.

Writer: Katie Nieland, Center for Great Plains Studies

Additional book cover: http://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/downloadables/photo/20150415-wildagain.jpg

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