Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (1998) Winner
Joseph Ellis
ジョセフ・エリス
Joseph Ellis
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1943-07-18 （Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Professor, Writer
- Active Years
- 1969-
- Affiliations
- Mount Holyoke College, Williams College, University of Massachusetts (Commonwealth Honors College)
- Influenced By
- Edmund S. Morgan
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of William and Mary | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| Yale University | — | History | MA, PhD | — | United States |
College of William and Mary
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Member of Theta Delta Chi; participated in ROTC while at William and Mary.
Yale University
History
Degree:
MA, PhD
Year of Graduation:
1969
Country:
United States
Doctoral dissertation directed by Edmund S. Morgan.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | National Book Award (Nonfiction) | American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson | ノンフィクション | National Book Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2001 | Pulitzer Prize for History | Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation | 歴史 | Pulitzer Prize Board | 受賞 |
National Book Award (Nonfiction)
1997
Work:
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
Category:
ノンフィクション
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
受賞
Pulitzer Prize for History
2001
Work:
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Category:
歴史
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize Board
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
1996 HistoryA biographical study examining Thomas Jefferson's character, his private life and political actions, highlighting contradictions and the role of privacy in his career.
Founding FathersCharacter and politics
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
2000 HistoryProfiles of key figures of the American Revolution and how their interactions and decisions shaped the early republic.
Revolutionary politicsInterpersonal relations of leaders
His Excellency: George Washington
2004 HistoryA portrait of George Washington focused on three major periods of his life, aimed at penetrating myth to analyze character formation and leadership.
LeadershipEarly American history
Bibliography
- The New England Mind in Transition: Samuel Johnson of Connecticut, 1696–1772
- School for Soldiers: West Point and the Profession of Arms
- Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams
- American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
- Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
- His Excellency: George Washington
- American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic
- First Family: Abigail and John Adams
- Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence
- The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789
- American Dialogue: The Founders and Us
- The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773-1783
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Accessible narrative style emphasizing characterPopular-historiography approach aimed at general readers
- Recurring Motifs
- Analysis of leaders' characterTension between politics and the individualDecisions of the founding era and moral implications
Legacy
Ellis is a prominent popular historian of early America, influential with both scholars and general readers for reshaping public understanding of founding-era figures. His reputation was tarnished by the 2001 controversy over false claims of combat service.
Academic Societies
- American Historical Association
Archives
- Mount Holyoke College Archives
Quotes
-
This new evidence constitutes, well, evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that Jefferson had a longstanding sexual relationship with Sally Hemings.
Source: PBS The NewsHour interview (1998) (1998)
Trivia
- In 2001 it was revealed he had fabricated stories about service in Vietnam; he was suspended without pay by Mount Holyoke College.
- American Sphinx and Founding Brothers were both bestsellers.