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11/4/2009

Rice professor's first book nabs top prize
Byrd wins Wesley-Logan Book Prize

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

In his book "Captives and Voyagers," Rice's Alexander Byrd tells the story of British colonialism by examining the colonial world's intersection with the African diaspora. When others tell the story of the book, they'll have another plot point to add: It was awarded the 2009 American Historical Association (AHA) Wesley-Logan Book Prize.

	ALEXANDER BYRD

The prize is sponsored by the AHA and the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History to honor the memory of two early pioneers in the field, Charles Wesley and Rayford Logan. Since 1993, the award has been given for an outstanding book with high scholarly and literary merit that details some aspect of the history of the dispersion, settlement and adjustment, or return of peoples originally from Africa.

"It is an honor because it celebrates a whole generation of Afro-American historians who really paved the way for all of us," Byrd said. "This award also honors the people who had faith and invested in me and the book -- even when it was just an idea, before I had turned over a primary source document, before I travelled to the archives."

Byrd also said the award recognizes the investment of Paula '52 and John Mosle, who fund the Mosle Faculty Research Awards in the Humanities.

"For seven years, the Mosles have supported my work and a whole bunch of other people's work," Byrd said. "It's great to see their investment get recognized."

"Captives and Voyagers" reveals how the departures, voyages and landings of enslaved and free blacks shaped migrant society and Britain's Atlantic empire. More than just a study of where they landed and what they did, the book pays particular attention to the social and cultural effects the trans-Atlantic journey had on the migrants.

"I hope this book prize means more people will buy my book and that other professors will decide to use it in the classroom," Byrd said.

For more information about "Captives and Voyagers," visit http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=12420.

To purchase a copy, visit http://www.lsu.edu/lsupress/bookPages/9780807133590.html.