We are happy to announce that historian Joseph P. Reidy has won the 2020 John Nau Book Prize in American Civil War Era History for his book Illusions of Emancipation: The Pursuit of Freedom and Equality in the Twilight of Slavery (University of North Carolina Press, 2019).
From the chair of the 2020 Nau Book Prize committee:
"Our committee unanimously and with great enthusiasm has awarded the 2020 John Nau Prize in American Civil War Era History to Joseph Reidy for Illusions of Emancipation: The Pursuit of Freedom & Equality in the Twilight of Slavery, published by the University of North Carolina Press. Reidy’s unique mastery of the original sources on the breakdown of slavery casts a bright light on the complicated nature of emancipation -- in time, across space, and in consideration of the multiple meanings of “home” for enslaved and free alike. Indeed, Illusions of Emancipation delivers a dramatic and eminently readable narrative on the troubled transition from slavery to freedom in the Confederacy and the loyal border-states during the years 1861-65. Reidy’s fresh and bold perspective not only re-invigorates a well-covered topic, but also invites the reader to ponder the conflicted meanings of emancipation, civil rights and citizenship from the perspective of the people living through this tumultuous period of nineteenth-century American history."
Please join us in congratulating Professor Reidy.