New Release is One for The Books

A new release from the Ohio University Press offers many firsts—the first major study of its kind, written by a first-time book author and with support from a new fund.

Beth Pratt | March 19, 2022

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Image courtesy of Ohio University Press.

Image courtesy of Ohio University Press.

Written from a Zambian perspective, War and Society in Colonial Zambia, 1939–1953 is a study of how the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (now­­­­ Zambia) organized and deployed human, military and natural resources during and after World War II. It is the first book written by Alfred Tembo, a research associate with the University of the Free State International Studies Group and a lecturer in the Department of Historical and Archaeological Studies at the University of Zambia.

“Alfred Tembo has produced a text that is both elegantly written and based upon meticulous and well-presented original research,” Ashley Jackson, a fellow from the University of Oxford, says of the book. “Throughout, Tembo makes seamless linkages between the grand political/strategic levels and the ‘on the ground’ participation in the conflict of this important African colony. The accessibility of its presentation makes this book ideal for academics, historians and general interest readers alike.”

A reflection of the pride it has in its first-time authors who have won major awards in African and Appalachian studies and its support of the best and the brightest young scholars working in these fields, Tembo’s book is the first to receive an award from the Ohio University Press’ Young Scholars First Book Fund.

The fund sets out to level the playing field for African and Appalachian scholars as they seek to publish their first books. Creators of the fund include Gillian Berchowitz, former Ohio University Press director; Jeff Chaddock, BSC ’88, philanthropist and private wealth advisor/CEO of Envisage Wealth; Steve Howard, professor in OHIO’s School of Media Arts and Studies and former director of the University’s African Studies Program; and Jean Allman, Derek Peterson and Allen Isaacman, series editors for the Ohio University Press’ New African Histories series. Other authors and friends of the Ohio University Press have joined in supporting this fund, which can be used for any aspect of the revision and publication process.

For more information on the Young Scholars First Book Fund, please visit https://give.ohio.edu/funds/young-scholars-first-book-fund.

Beth Pratt is the new director of the Ohio University Press.