American Memories: Atrocities and the Law has won the the 2012 Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Theory Section Outstanding Book Award. Here is the announcement for the award, given to authors Joachim Savelsberg and Ryan King:

The committee believes that this book makes a profound contribution to Social Problems Theory by providing a deep and comprehensive analysis of how difficult pasts are recalled institutionally. Unlike many who examine collective memory as located in the hearts and minds of citizens, Savelsberg and King remind us of the important role of institutions—law and the courts—in recalling atrocities. In the aftermath of atrocities, how a state responds has an enduring effect and provides an ethical framework for whether and in what form citizens remember moral transgressions. Savelsberg and King demonstrate that such responses are critical in teaching us how to deal with large-scale systemic violence. Through the commemoration of atrocity, perhaps future attacks will be avoided. One can only hope.

You can read the introduction to the book for free, or buy a copy here.