University of Minnesota professor Giancarlo Casale is on the short list for the prestigious Cundill Prize in History, given by McGill University in Montreal. Casale's book, "The Ottoman Age of Exploration," was published by Oxford University Press. He is assistant professor of the History of the Islamic World and the 2009-2011 McKnight Land Grant Professor at the U.

The other finalists are Diarmaid MacCulloch of Oxford University for "A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years," and Marla R. Miller of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for "Betsy Ross and the Making of America."

The award carries a $75,000 honorarium, and runners-up receive $10,000. The winner will be announced Nov. 14.