Military historian, professor, and UAP author Dr. John H. Morrow, Jr. is the 13th recipient of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.
The Pritzker Literature Award—which includes a gold medallion, citation, and $100,000 honorarium—recognizes and honors the contributions of a living author for a body of work dedicated to enriching the understanding of military history and affairs. Museum & Library Founder & Chair Jennifer N. Pritzker, a retired colonel in the Illinois National Guard, will formally present Morrow with the award at the organization’s annual Liberty Gala on November 2 at the Hilton Chicago, where he will be joined by past recipients.
UAP is proud to have published Morrow’s The Great War in the Air: Military Aviation from 1909 to 1921. This volume is a comprehensive study of the totality of the air war in its military, political, industrial, and cultural aspects and provides a complete understanding of the development of air power and its role in the Great War.
Morrow’s other works includes The Great War: An Imperial History, Harlem’s Rattlers and the Great War (co-authored with Jeffrey T. Sammons)and German Airpower in World War I, among others. He has gained recognition for his ability to demonstrate how the past and the present intertwine inextricably.
“I am truly honored to accept the 2019 Pritzker Military Museum & Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing,” said Dr. Morrow. “Receiving the award after nearly fifty years of historical writing, teaching, and consulting constitutes the ultimate affirmation of my career as a scholar of the history of modern war and society.”
Now in its thirteenth year, the Pritzker Literature Award was first presented to historian James McPherson in 2007. Past recipients – several of whom served as members of the award’s 2019 screening committee – are Dennis Showalter, Peter Paret, Sir Hew Strachan, David Hackett Fischer, Sir Antony Beevor, Tim O’Brien, Max Hastings, Carlo d’Este, Rick Atkinson, Gerhard Weinberg, and Allan Millet.
A graduate of the Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania and a recipient of the U.S Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Morrow has been a guiding force for the study of history for numerous military and civic institutions. In addition to serving as the Franklin Professor and Chair of the History Department at University of Georgia where he teaches courses on the history of Modern Europe and of warfare and society, Morrow has also contributed to the education of faculty and students at the National War College, the Air War College, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Morrow was previously head of the history department at the University of Tennessee. Following his successful teaching career, the university named in his honor a lecture series and an award for Excellence in military history. He has chaired the History Advisory Committee to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Research Advisory Committee of the National Museum of American History. He has most recently served on the History Advisory Committee of the Department of the Army, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission’s Legacy Committee, and the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board.
The Pritzker Literature Award is sponsored by the Pritzker Military Foundation. To learn more about the award or the selection process, or to watch the 2010 Literature Award recipient, Rick Atkinson, announce John Morrow, Jr. as this year’s winner, visit pritzkermilitary.org.
ABOUT THE PRITZKER MILITARY MUSEUM & LIBRARY
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library is open to the public and features an extensive collection of books, artifacts, and rotating exhibits covering many eras and branches of the military. From its founding in 2003, it is a center where citizens and soldiers come together to learn about military history and the role of the military in a democracy. The Museum & Library is a non-partisan, non-government information center supported by its members and sponsors.