Smith Awarded Henry Wallace Prize for Best Book in Agricultural History

Posted May 18, 2015

Jenny Leigh Smith, assistant professor in the School of History, Technology, and Society, was named a recipient of the Henry Wallace Award for her book Works in Progress: Plans and Realities on Soviet Farms, 1930-1963 (Yale University Press, 2014).

The Henry A. Wallace Award, given out by the Agricultural History Society at Mississippi State University, recognizes the best book on any aspect (broadly interpreted) of agricultural history outside of the United States. The Award has been offerred annually since 2010.

Works in Progress is the first book to investigate the gap between the plans and the reality of the Soviet Union’s mid-twentieth-century project to industrialize and modernize its agricultural system. Though historians agree that the project failed badly (agriculture was inefficient, unpredictable, and environmentally devastating for the entire Soviet period), Smith argues that assigning the blame exclusively to Soviet planners would be off the mark and the real story is much more complicated. Using case studies from five Soviet regions, Smith acknowledges hubris and shortsightedness but also gives consideration to the difficulties encountered and the successes — however modest — that were achieved.

Jenny Leigh Smith is a historian of technology and the environment in the School of History, Technology, and Society. Her areas of focus are agriculture, economic development, food, and science and technology of medicine and the environment. Her recent research focuses on the science and technology behind international famine relief projects during the 20th Century.