Lecture, Award Presentation, and Reception in Celebration of the William P. Clements Prize for the Best Non-Fiction Book on Southwestern America

Honoring Jefferson Morgenthaler

Thursday, November 10, 2005
The DeGolyer Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University
6404 Hilltop Lane
6:00 pm reception, followed by 6:45 pm award ceremony, 7 pm lecture and book signing

Jefferson Morgenthaler, winner of the 2004 Clements Book Prize for The River Has Never Divided Us (UT Press:  2004), will share some thoughts on the Rio Grande, the border and the process of researching and writing history.  He will tell stories that didn't make it into his book, and will explain why it has been banned by the National Park Service.

Our judges have called The River Has Never Divided Us "compelling," " a tour de force," and "relentless tale-spinning, ironic and mordant."

The $2,500 Clements Book Prize honors fine writing and original research on the American Southwest. The competition is open to any nonfiction book, including biography, on any aspect of Southwestern life, past or present. The William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies is part of SMU's Dedman College and affiliated with the Department of History. It was created to promote research, publishing, teaching and public programming in a variety of fields related to the American Southwest. For more information about the Center or about the upcoming book prize event, please call (214) 768-1233 or see http://smu.edu/swcenter/prize.htm.