The Book Prize Index

Frederick Jackson Turner: Historian, Scholar, Teacher

Ray Allen Billington

[This biography of Turner] "is a brilliant exploration of the development of a historical concept that shook the scholarly world with its interpretation of an America molded by westward expansion and sectionalism. On the other, it is a warmly engaging portrait of a dedicated teacher caught up in the complex pattern of university life." Dust jacket.

BiographyBiography · medium confidenceBiography81 signalsLlm Classifier: Biography -> BiographyGoogle Books: Biography & Autobiography -> Memoir & AutobiographyGoogle Books: Biography & Autobiography -> BiographyTravel, Exploration & PlaceBiography & Public Lives

Award History

1 wins · 2 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Bancroft PrizeMajor1974WinnerOfficial source
National Book Award for HistoryMajor1974FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (2)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    • Frederick Jackson Turner90%

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    Turner's historical concept interpreted America as molded by westward expansion and sectionalism, reshaping scholarly thought, and the biography portrays him as a dedicated teacher in complex university life.

    Model confidence 48%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    55 / 100 academic

    Trade / academic crossover

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.