IU Press author nominated for Nobel Prize

Jane Hamilton-Merritt, whose book Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992 has been nominated by Ball State University for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her book, now in its fifth printing, was published by the IU Press in 1993. Book cover

Hamilton-Merritt, a Ball State alumna, former combat photographer and university professor, was praised in her nomination for her advocacy on behalf of the Hmong people. Allies of the United States in the secret theater of war in Laos, the Hmong were later persecuted by the Vietnamese and Laotian adversaries after American troops withdrew in 1975.

This year's Nobel laureates are expected to be named in mid-October.