History doesn’t have to be stuffy

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Charles Rappleye has been awarded the third annual George Washington Book Prize for his ‘Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution.’

You might remember that, in 2001, the publishing industry was stunned by the appearance of David McCullough’s ‘John Adams.’ Adams wasn’t thought to be nearly as interesting as Jefferson or Washington, but McCullough’s storytelling techniques created a compelling historical picture, resulting in a surprise bestseller (the book stayed on The Los Angeles Times’ hardcover list for more than 48 weeks). ‘John Adams’ and other books, including Joseph Ellis’ ‘Founding Brothers,’ demonstrated the public’s strong interest in early American history--when it isn’t treated like an encyclopedia entry.

Rappleye, a former editor and investigative journalist for L.A. Weekly, clearly learned from these examples. The organizers of the George Washington prize, in citing the award recipient, emphasized the strength of the narrative in ‘Sons of Providence,’ which portrays the clash between Rhode Island brothers Moses and John Brown during this country’s infancy. He traces their contentious, contradictory relationship--loyal to each other yet bitterly divided over slavery. Overtones of a Cain vs. Abel struggle have been noted, both by award organizers and also by prominent critics when the book first appeared.

‘Using the Browns to illustrate competing forces, Rappleye brings the siblings to vivid life,’ wrote Newsweek’s Jon Meacham last year for The Times’ Book Review. In ‘Sons of Providence,’ Meacham said, Rappleye presents a well-told story touching on the ‘perennial issues of race, power, equality and money.’

The George Washington Book Prize, created in 2005 to honor books that focus on the nation’s earliest years, offers a $50,000 prize. The cash awards for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in similar categories is $10,000.

Nick Owchar

(Photo: Simon & Schuster)