Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize

The Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize, which honors an outstanding work on American naval history, is awarded each year by the New York Council of the Navy League in cooperation with FERI and the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The prize commemorates the contributions made by Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt while serving as assistant secretaries of the navy and their support of the navy during their presidential administrations. It includes a $3,500 cash prize.

The Prize is presented annually to a book which, in the opinion of the judges, most usefully illuminates the role of seapower or maritime history within the ambit of American history. The judges consider originality and contribution to scholarship; literature and style; readability and general interest; content; the book as a physical object; and research. The prize is not restricted to American authors but the book must be published in English.

To submit a book for consideration, please send a copy to: Nicholas Ludington, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park NY 12538.


Roosevelt Naval History Prize Winners

1986 Ronald Spector for his book Eagle Against the Sun
1987 Edward L. Beach for his book The United States Navy: 200 Years (Henry Holt, 1986)
1988 Robert Erwin Johnson for his book Guardians of the Sea: A History of the U.S. Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present (Naval Institute Press, 1987)
1989 James R. Reckner for his book Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet: The World Cruise of the American Battle Fleet, 1907-1909 (Naval Institute Press, 1988)
1990 B. Mitchell Simpson III for his book Admiral Harold R. Stark: Architect of Victory, 1939-1945 (University of South Carolina Press, 1989)
1991 Francis Duncan for Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology (Naval Institute Press, 1990)
1992 Edward Miller for his book War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan, 1897-1945 (Naval Institute Press, 1991)
1993 Townsend Hoopes and Douglas Brinkley for their book Driven Patriot: The Life and Times of James Forrestal (Knopf, 1992)
1994 Gary E. Weir for his book Forged in War: The Naval-Industrial Complex and American Submarine Construction, 1940-1961 (Naval Historical Center, 1993)
1995 Joseph H. Alexander for his book Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa (Naval Institute Press, 1995)
1996 Raimondo Luraghi for his book The History of the Confederate Navy (Naval Institute Press, 1996)
1997 James and Patricia McPherson for their book Lamson of the Gettysburg: The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, USN (Oxford University Press, 1997)
1998 Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, with Annette Lawrence Drew for their book Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage (Public Affairs Press, 1998)
1999 Edward J. Marolda and Robert J. Schneller Jr. for their book Shield and Sword: The United States Navy and the Persian Gulf War (United States Naval Institute, 1999)
2000 Bill Gilbert for his book Ship of Miracles (Triumph Books, 2000)
2001 John H. Schroeder for his book Matthew Calbraith Perry: Antebellum Sailor and Diplomat (Naval Institute Press, 2001)
2002 Greg Kennedy for his book Anglo-American Strategic Relations and the Far East 1933-1939 (Frank Cass Publishers, 2001)