Alex Green
Alex Green
Alex Green
Alex Green has established himself as a meticulous historian whose work illuminates the often-overlooked intersections of institutional power, disability rights, and American social policy. His approach combines rigorous archival research with compelling narrative prose, making complex historical moments accessible without sacrificing intellectual depth. Green’s scholarship consistently examines how systems meant to protect vulnerable populations have instead reflected and reinforced societal prejudices, a theme that runs through his most celebrated work.
His 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award win for Biography recognizes A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled, a landmark study that uses the life and legacy of pioneering—yet deeply problematic—institutionalist Walter E. Fernald as a lens through which to examine America’s relationship with disability care. Rather than presenting a simple biographical narrative, Green uses Fernald’s story to trace the philosophical and practical contradictions that have defined disability services from the Progressive Era through the twentieth century. The award represents significant recognition of Green’s ability to grapple with morally complicated historical figures while maintaining unflinching clarity about the consequences of their choices and ideologies.