Puleo honored with a Christopher Award for "Voyage of Mercy"

South Weymouth, Mass.-based author and historian Stephen Puleo received a Christopher Award for Voyage of Mercy: The USS Jamestown, the Irish Famine, and the Remarkable Story of America’s First Humanitarian Mission (St. Martin’s Press). It is one of 12 books for adults and young people by 17 authors and illustrators honored as the Awards mark their 72nd year. The authors join creators of 10 winning TV/Cable and feature films.

Puleo shares the story of the U.S. government and private citizens from all economic backgrounds who lead America’s first full-blown humanitarian relief effort in response to Ireland’s 1846-47 potato famine.

The #ChristopherAwards were created in 1949 to celebrate authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit,” and reflects The Christophers' motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness” said Tony Rossi, director of communications.

In Voyage of Mercy Puleo recounts the USS Jamestown’s heroic voyage that showed how the ramifications of a single decision can be measured not in days, but in decades. More than 5,000 ships left Ireland during the great potato famine, transporting the starving and the destitute away from their stricken homeland. The first vessel to sail in the other direction--to Ireland--to help the millions unable to escape, was the Jamestown, a converted warship, which left Boston in March 1847 loaded with precious food. In an unprecedented move by Congress, the warship had been placed in civilian hands, stripped of its guns, and committed to the peaceful delivery of food, clothing, and supplies.

In addition to being an author and historian, Puleo is also a teacher, public speaker, and communications professional. He has published six other narrative history books some of which include American Treasures: The Secret Efforts to Save the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address (2016) and The Caning: The Assault That Drove America to Civil War (2012). All of his books have been Boston regional bestsellers and have received national recognition.

He donates a portion of his book proceeds to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

He has made more than 600 appearances, before thousands of readers, since the publication of his first book, Dark Tide, in 2003. Some of his showcase appearances include: guest speaker at the National Archives and the National Constitution Center on his book, American Treasures; a keynote speaker for the 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Massachusetts Superior Court; and a panel participant with Italian-American and Jewish-American scholars entitled Italy and the Holocaust: The Calabria Connection, presented at UMass-Boston.

A former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor of articles and book reviews to publications and organizations that include American History magazine, Politico, the Boston Globe, and the Bill of Rights Institute, Puleo has taught history at Suffolk University in Boston and currently teaches at UMass-Boston.

Puleo holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, where he received the Dean’s Award for Academic Achievement and was the Graduate Convocation keynote speaker. His master’s thesis, From Italy to Boston’s North End: Italian Immigration and Settlement, 1890-1910, has been downloaded more than 18,000 times by scholars and readers in 60+ countries. He is also a Massachusetts Historical Society Fellow.

The Christophers, a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org.