Leeman’s book ‘Forging the Trident’ wins honorable mention for prestigious award
At the annual conference of the North American Society for Oceanic History in the summer of 2021, it was announced that “Forging the Trident: Theodore Roosevelt and the United States Navy,” edited by Dr. John Hattendorf and Dr. William Leeman, won honorable mention for the 2020 John Lyman Book Award in U.S. Naval History. Dr. Leeman is an associate professor of history and the director of the Pell Honors Program at Salve Regina.
“The North American Society of Oceanic History is a professional organization representing naval history experts from around the world,” explained Dr. Tim Neary, professor and chair of history. “Honorable mention for the 2020 Lyman Book Award in U.S. Naval History recognizes the high level of scholarly excellence in ‘Forging the Trident,’ and it garners greater widespread positive attention for the book.”
Dr. Bill Leeman
Published in the fall of 2020 by Naval Institute Press, “Forging the Trident” is the first time that a single volume has examined Theodore Roosevelt’s influence on the U.S. Navy. It delves into aspects of Roosevelt’s life from the 1880s, when he worked as a naval historian, to his leadership of the Navy as president during the first decade of the twentieth century.
Dr. Leeman co-edited the book with Dr. John Hattendorf, who is the Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History Emeritus and senior advisor for the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, as well as one of the nation’s preeminent naval historians.
Dr. Leeman and Dr. Hattendorf brought together some of the nation’s leading naval historians to write individual chapters on different aspects of Roosevelt’s influence on the U.S. Navy. The book’s fourth chapter, written by Dr. Leeman, “From Knowledge, Sea Power: Theodore Roosevelt, Naval Education, and the New Navy,” examines how Roosevelt reformed both the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in order to produce highly trained naval officers to command the modern battleship fleet that he built as president.
“We in the Department of History are very proud of Dr. Leeman’s accomplishment,” said Dr. Neary. “Bill’s excellent scholarship not only elevates the academic reputation of the department and the University; he brings that expertise into the classroom on a daily basis, which benefits Salve students.”
More information on “Forging the Trident” can be found in another SALVEtoday article on the book.
