History prof's book wins Ferrell Book Prize

Grand Valley State University professor of History James Goode is this year’s winner of the Robert H. Ferrell Book Prize.

The $2,500 prize, awarded annually from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, is designed to reward distinguished scholarship. Goode’s book, Negotiating the Past: Archeology, Nationalism, and Diplomacy in the Middle East, 1919-1941, studies traditional diplomacy combined with culture and art.

Noted in the award letter was Goode’s truly incredible array of archival sources in the U.S., Europe, and several Middle Eastern countries as he focused on the importance on nationalism in the Middle East and how this affected the efforts of Western museums to obtain treasures from ancient sites, including Iran, Egypt and Iraq.

The prize will be presented at the SHAFR annual meeting luncheon in New York on March 29.