The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has announced that Professor Evan Mawdsley has been awarded the 12th annual Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize for Supremacy at Sea: Task Force 58 and the Central Pacific Victory (Yale University Press, 2024).
The $50,000 prize is bestowed in recognition of the best eligible English-language book in the field of American military history, distinguished by its scholarship, its contribution to the literature, and its appeal to the broadest possible general reading public.
Professor Mawdsley was Professor of International History at the University of Glasgow until retirement in 2010. He is currently a Professorial Research Fellow in the School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan. He also works very closely with the Scottish Centre for War Studies & Conflict Archaeology giving seminars and sharing his research with colleagues and students over the years.
Professor Mawdsley said: “As an historian I am greatly honoured to receive what has become such a prestigious prize for the profession. I also strongly welcome the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s encouragement of history that is both of high quality and attractive to a broad audience and especially to students. It is important that this encouragement includes military history as a rich subject fully worthy of study.”
An event celebrating the winner and the two shortlisted authors will take place on Tuesday, December 2 at the Yale Club of New York.
Finalists for this year’s prize were chosen by a three-member jury chaired by Colonel (Retired) Kevin J. Weddle, Distinguished Fellow, United States Army War College. He was joined by Michael S. Neiberg, Professor of History and Chair of War Studies at the United States Army War College and Susannah J. Ural, Professor of History and Frank and Virginia Williams Chair for Abraham Lincoln and Civil War Studies at Mississippi State University.
The final choice was made by the prize board: James G. Basker, President and CEO of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History; Robert C. Daum, former chairman and current trustee of the American Battlefield Trust; Lieutenant General (Retired) Michelle D. Johnson; Robert H. Niehaus and S. Griffin (Griff) Norquist III.
“Supremacy at Sea is a masterfully researched and vividly narrated account that brings to life the strategic brilliance and operational might of the US Navy’s most formidable carrier force. Mawdsley’s deep historical insight and crisp prose transform complex naval engagements into an accessible, gripping chronicle of American maritime dominance in World War II,” said James G. Basker.
Jury chair Kevin Weddle in his report to the prize board wrote: “This is an excellent narrative history of what was arguably the most powerful naval force ever created, the US Navy’s Task Force 58 of the Pacific Fleet."
He continued: “A particularly noteworthy feature of Supremacy at Sea is Mawdsley’s deep dive into the logistical support of this immense and complex force.”
The purpose of the Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize is to draw public attention to military history not only as an important staple of education in the areas of international relations, diplomacy and conflict studies, but also as a subject in which any educated citizen should be interested. The study of the steps to war, conduct of military campaigns and diplomatic responses to war can play an essential role in the quest for a more peaceable future.
There were 94 books submitted for consideration by publishers in the United States and the United Kingdom for the 12th annual Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize. The prize was originated by Lewis E. Lehrman, co-founder of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, author and champion of studies in American political and military history.