Harvard professor's study of tobacco wins history prize

A Harvard Medical School historian has won a prestigious award for his study of the tobacco industry.

Allan M. Brandt was awarded the Bancroft Prize for 2008 for his book "The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America." He is a professor of the history of medicine at the medical school and is also a member of the history of science department at Harvard University.

The other two winners of the Bancroft Prize announced today by Columbia University are Charles Postel of California State University, Sacramento, for "The Populist Vision" and Peter Silver of Princeton University for "Our Savage Neighbors: How Indian War Transformed Early America." The prizes, which include an award of $10,000 to each author, are given each year to books in American history, biography, and diplomacy.