Readers of Arkansas history can enjoy half off through the end of the year on all U of A Press' books that have won the J.G. Ragsdale Book Award from the Arkansas Historical Association. These books represent some of the best writing and scholarship on the Arkansas history, and bring to life key figures, pivotal events and transformative movements in the state's history.

The J.G. Ragsdale Book Award in Arkansas History is presented annually by the Arkansas Historical Association to honor the best nonfiction, book-length study on any aspect of Arkansas' past. Named for J.G. Ragsdale, a 1919 graduate of the U of A and a founding member of the association, the award recognizes his legacy in promoting historical scholarship and public service in the state.

This year's Ragsdale Award was presented to Kenneth C. Barnes for his new book, Mob Rule in the Ozarks: The Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad Strike, 1921-1923. In this work, Barnes examines a violent railroad strike that exposed deep economic tensions in post-World War I America and fractured Ozark communities for years to come. The conflict, as Barnes shows, signaled a national shift away from Progressive Era gains for labor and toward the dominance of moneyed interests. He draws poignant parallels between this historic labor struggle and the political divisions of today, highlighting the thin line between civil order and mob violence.

Barnes has previously received the Ragsdale Award in 2021 for The Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Arkansas: How Protestant White Nationalism Came to Rule a State, a powerful exploration of white nationalism's rise and its enduring effects on Arkansas. In 2016, his book Anti-Catholicism in Arkansas: How Politicians, the Press, the Klan, and Religious Leaders Imagined an Enemy, 1910-1960, a revealing account of how Arkansas' Protestant majority fostered fear and hostility toward Catholic communities, won the award.

Other recent titles included in the sale include Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956 by John Kirk, which won the 2024 Ragsdale Award. Kirk's book is a richly detailed biography examining why a scion of one of America's wealthiest families left New York for a mountaintop in Arkansas during the 1950s. Country Boy: The Roots of Johnny Cash by Colin Edward Woodward, the 2023 award winner, traces the cultural and historical forces that shaped the legendary musician.

Additional Ragsdale winners included in the sale are A Stranger and a Sojourner: Peter Caulder, Free Black Frontiersman in Antebellum Arkansas by Billy Higgins; The Rumble of a Distant Drum by Morris Arnold; and Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol' Boys Defined a State by Brooks Blevins.

Take advantage of this limited time offer to explore the people and events that have defined Arkansas. Use code RAGSDALE25 at checkout on uapress.com or use the code when you call 1-800-621-2736 to receive 50% off these award-winning titles now through Dec. 31.