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LATEST book

Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

Awards

“Necessary Trouble is a beautifully rendered coming-of-age narrative of a sensitive young woman—raised in a conservative white family of privilege in rural Virginia horse country—whose growing awareness of the suffocating conventions of gender gradually awakens her to the inequities of race.  Through superb storytelling and delightfully lyrical prose, Drew Faust demonstrates, day-to-day, the inextricable interplay of class, gender, and race in mid-twentieth century America far more effectively than a scholarly treatise could ever achieve. Necessary Trouble is destined to be a classic of American memoir.” — Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University

“Such a wonderful book. I can’t wait to give copies to my daughters. All young women should read this book. And everyone else, too.”— Sally Mann, author of Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs

“The former president of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust, oozes brilliance. Her book is like a history of America with a feminist bent. We watch Drew grow from being a young woman writing activist letters to those in power — even to a former president — to running one of the most esteemed institutions in the world. We see the effects of her own education, her deep involvement in the country’s civil rights movement and how her own trajectory has been shaped by the country’s as a whole. It’s a fascinating read.” — Zibby Owens, ABC News

Other Books

This Republic of Suffering – Death and the American Civil War

Awards

  • Bancroft Prize for This Republic of Suffering, 2009
  • New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize for This Republic of Suffering, 2009
  • Pulitzer Prize, finalist, This Republic of Suffering, 2009
  • National Book Critics Circle Award, finalist, This Republic of Suffering, 2008
  • Los Angeles Times Book Prize, finalist, This Republic of Suffering, 2008
  • National Book Award, finalist, This Republic of Suffering, 2008
  • The New York Times, “Ten Best Books of 2008,” This Republic of Suffering

“Extraordinary . . . Profoundly moving.” – Geoffrey C. Ward, The New York Times Book Review (front cover)

“This Republic of Suffering is one of those groundbreaking histories in which a crucial piece of the past, previously overlooked or misunderstood suddenly clicks into focus.” – Malcolm Jones, Newsweek

“Fascinating, innovative . . .” – Eric Foner, the Nation

“A virtuosic performance by a world-class historian.” – David A. Andelman, Forbes

See this book on the publishers website (penguinrandomhouse.com)

Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War

Awards

  • Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians for Mothers of Invention, 1997
  • Avery Craven Prize of the Organization of American Historians for Mothers of Invention, 1997
  • Jefferson Davis Award of the Museum of the Confederacy for Mothers of Invention, 1997
  • Mothers of Invention named New York Times “Notable Book of the Year”, 1996
  • Honorable Mention, John Hope Franklin Award, American Studies Association, 1997 for Mothers of Invention
  • Honorable Mention, Annual Awards, Association of American Publishers for Mothers of Invention, 1997

See this book on the publishers website (uncpress.org)

The Creation of Confederate Nationalism: Ideology and Identity in the Civil War South

“Drew Faust brings a welcome sophistication and subtlety to the discussion of Confederate nationalism.”  William L. Barney, Civil War History

“An elegant essay exploring the meaning of Confederate nationalism for wartime southerners..”  Charles Reagan Wilson, Journal of American History

“An outstanding piece of work, boldly conceptualized, extremely thoughtful, and elegantly written.”  Steven Hahn, New York University

See this book on the publishers website (lsupress.org)

James Henry Hammond and the Old South: A Design for Mastery (Southern Biography Series)

Awards

  • Charles S. Sydnor Prize of the Southern Historical Association for James Henry Hammond and the Old South, 1984
  • Society of Historians of the Early Republic Prize for James Henry Hammond and the Old South, 1983
  • Jules F. Landry Award for James Henry Hammond and the Old South, 1983

See this book on the publishers website (lsupress.org)

A Sacred Circle: The Dilemma of the Intellectual in the Old South, 1840-1860

“This is a provocative book, full of insights . . . It is written with charm and is thoroughly researched.  It  is a valuable addition not only to the history of the South, the American mind, and slavery, but to American letters as well.”  David L. Smiley, American Historical Review

Southern Stories: Slaveholders in Peace and War

“Southern Stories is an excellent collection of essays that illustrates all Faust’s own storytelling genius that has made her one of the most widely read and insightful southern historians of our age.”–Georgia Historical Quarterly

“As with her treatment of male slaveholders in peace, Faust’s portraits of Confederate women in wartime illustrate the interplay between ideas and reality and place the slaveholders securely in the context of their own society. The result is a historically grounded and intellectually sophisticated approach that is rarely adversarial or dismissive of differing viewpoints.”–Reviews in American History

“Her style of writing is equal to the quality of her research and the ingenuity of her insights. . . . One hasn’t enjoyed the Civil War through a woman’s eyes as much as in this book since Mrs. Chesnut’s diary and Margaret Mitchell’s novel.” —Southern Seen

“The book gives a vivid picture of people’s thoughts and deeds as they were involved in various situations brought on by the war. An excellent book for any Civil War or southern culture collection.”– Library Journal

See this book on the publishers website (upress.missouri.edu)