OAKLAND, CA—Two books published in 2016 by the Independent Institute—Crossroads for Liberty and Nature Unbound—have won prestigious book awards for their excellence. The awards have been announced and will be presented at conferences in May and June.
Crossroads for Liberty: Recovering the Anti-Federalist Values of America’s First Constitutionby William J. Watkins, Jr. (Research Fellow, Independent Institute) is the 2017 Gold Winner in the Politics & Current Events category of the Independent Book Publishing Association’s 29th Annual Benjamin Franklin Awards.
The Benjamin Franklin Awards webpage says of the book, “In a time of increasing turmoil over American history, politics, and society, Crossroad for Liberty takes a surprising and thought-provoking look at the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, and asks what we can learn from them.”
Nature Unbound: Bureaucracy vs. the Environment, by Randy T Simmons, Ryan M. Yonk, and Kenneth J. Sim (Fellows, Independent Institute) has received the 2017 Gold Medal IPPY Award in the Environment/Ecology/Nature category. Given out annually, the IPPYs—more formally known as the Independent Publisher Book Awards—honor the year’s best independently published books in the world.
Winning a Gold IPPY Award is especially noteworthy because of the tremendous number of book submissions—just short of 5,000 entries from 32 countries, according to Independent Publisher. “It is always a Herculean task for our judges to pick the best of the best out of so many wonderful books,” its IPPY Award webpage said.
“We are honored and thrilled that the book industry has recognized Crossroads for Liberty and Nature Unbound for their excellence,” said David J. Theroux, President and Founder of the Independent Institute. “My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the Independent Book Publishers Association and Independent Publisher for these important awards—and to our superb authors and publishing team.”
The awards are the latest honors for the Independent Institute’s scholarly book program, which publishes 5 to 7 peer-reviewed books annually on important social and economic issues. In the past decade, Independent has received 11 IPPY awards, including four Gold Medals. Independent has also received two Benjamin Franklin Awards.
The Independent Institute is a non-profit organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to solve major economic and social problems. Independent’s mission is to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For media inquiries, contact Rob Ade, Communications Manager at the Independent Institute [email protected], 510-632-1366, ext. 114.
