UC Davis professor’s holistic look at slavery shortlisted for prestigious National Book Award
Failure to learn history only means repeating it for high school students. For the rest of us, though, not knowing history deprives us of a fundamental element of awareness.
According to Alan Taylor, a UC Davis “Distinguished Professor” in the subject, “History gives people a sense of depth perception for the world we live in now.”
Taylor, who specializes in the early American period, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for his book “William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic.” Now, his latest book, “The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832” (W.W. Norton & Co., $35, 624 pages), is a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award. The winner will be announced Wednesday....