Historian's book wins national award

IU associate professor of history Nick Cullather has received the 2011 Ellis W. Hawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians for his examination of the role of food in the Cold War.

His book, “The Hungry World: America’s Cold War Battle Against Poverty in Asia,” was honored for its argument that food occupied a central place in American policy makers’ efforts to contain communism, OAH Executive Director Katherine Finley said in a press release.

“With its breadth, imagination, broad research agenda and sharp analytic edge, ‘The Hungry World’ honors and expands on the legacy of Ellis Hawley and his work on the political economy of twentieth-century America,” the Hawley Prize Committee wrote in the announcement.

The annual award is given to the best book-length historical study of the political economy, politics or institutions of the United States from the Civil War to the present, according to the organization’s website.

Cullather is the first historian associated with IU to receive the award.