Kentucky.gov

Frankfort, KY - Dr. James C. Klotter, of Lexington, is this year's winner of the Kentucky Historical Society's Governor's Award. This award is given to the author of the best book to appear on Kentucky history over the past four years. Governor's Award winners receive a plaque and a prize of $1,000, funded by the Kentucky Historical Society Foundation. Dr. Klotter was presented this award at the Kentucky Historical Society's annual meeting on November 9 in Frankfort.

Klotter's book is Kentucky Justice, Southern Honor, and American Manhood: Understanding the Life and Death of Richard Reid and was published by the Louisiana State University Press in 2003.

Klotter is the author, coauthor, or editor of more than a dozen books, including the texts used at the elementary, secondary, and college level for Kentucky history. In addition to the book for which his award is given, these books include Faces of Kentucky, Our Kentucky: A Study of the Bluegrass State, A New History of Kentucky, William Goebel: The Politics of Wrath, The Breckinridges of Kentucky, 1760- 1981, and Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, 1900-1950.

A native Kentuckian, Klotter received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Kentucky in 1975. He is currently the state historian of Kentucky and professor of history at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky.

The Governor's Award has been given every four years in the last year of a governor's term since 1979. A panel of three judges is selected to review the books eligible and make their choices. The criteria used for selecting a winner places emphasis on originality, readability, and the strength of the author's research. The first Governor's Award winner was Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau for Federal Courts in the Early Republic: Kentucky, 1789- 1816.

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An agency of the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, since 1836, has provided connections to the past, perspective on the present, and inspiration for the future. KHS operates the Old State Capitol, the Kentucky Military History Museum, and its headquarters, the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. Since 1999, the thirty-million- dollar Center has welcomed more than one million visitors. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit our Web site.