Shreveport, LA – Louisiana State University Shreveport professor of history, Dr. Alexander Mikaberidze, the Ruth Herring Noel Endowed Chair and curator of the James Smith Noel Collection, was recently announced as the winner of this year’s Gilder Lehrman Military History prize for his book The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History (Oxford University Press, 2020).
“The judging panel were hugely impressed by the sheer range—in terms of geography, chronology, and sources—that Alexander brought to bear. He is equally at home explaining what was happening in Persia, India, and the Americas as in the cockpit of the European fighting,” said Professor Andrew Roberts, chair of the judging committee.
“The Gilder Lehrman Prize in Military History is of international prominence and is highly competitive,” said Mikaberidze. “This year it featured over 70 titles, many of them by esteemed historians whose work I greatly admire. I am deeply honored and humbled.”
The prize-winning book, which has also garnered the Society for Military History’s 2021 Distinguished Book Award, looks at the Napoleonic Wars from a more holistic worldview. “Studying the vast body of scholarship dedicated to the Napoleonic era, I felt that the existing literature was too focused on events in Europe. The Napoleonic Wars had ramifications far beyond the European borders, so I decided to write a book showcasing the wider impact of this turbulent era,” said Mikaberidze. “My hope is that the readers will gain a better appreciation of the scope of the war that we can confidently call a ‘world war.’ Equally important, I think, is the broader lesson of breaking out of existing frameworks and casting a fresh look at existing historical narratives.”
The Gilder Lehrman award is bestowed annually to an author of military history whose work was published in English during the last calendar year. The $50,000 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History is an effort by the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the New-York Historical Society to highlight works distinguished by scholarship, contribution to the literature, and a broad appeal to both a general and an academic audience.
Mikaberidze will be honored in a virtual ceremony on November 4th. Tickets are free and available online.
About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources, at the core of which is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history, with more than 80,000 primary source documents.
About the New-York Historical Society
New York City’s oldest museum, the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library was founded in 1804. The Patricia D. Klingenstein Library—one of the most distinguished in the nation—fosters research through its outstanding collections, which include more than 10 million items. The Museum presents groundbreaking history and art exhibitions as well as public programs that convey the stories of New York and the nation’s diverse populations to the broadest possible public. Learn more at nyhistory.org.
Additional media contacts:
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Josh Landon
landon@gilderlehrman.org
(646) 366-9666 x137
New-York Historical Society
Marybeth Ihle
marybeth.ihle@nyhistory.org
(212) 873-3400 x326
About LSUS
Founded in 1967, Louisiana State University Shreveport offers a wide array of nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including a doctoral degree. The university’s mission is to educate a diverse population of graduate and undergraduate students; engage in regional and global thought leadership through community collaboration and service; and innovate to enhance the application of knowledge and intellectual discovery through faculty and student research and creative endeavors.
