The Malaysian Insider :: Books
The Malaysian Insider :: Books |
| Samuel Johnson Prize 2013: Longlist favours biography and history Posted: 07 Sep 2013 05:11 PM PDT "We are looking for the kind of book that we would recommend to a friend, perhaps a subject that they didn't normally read, but that has that special something - a theme, a novel approach, or a specially high quality of writing," was the philosophy of Lord Martin Rees, the judges' chair. "There are lots of biographies and history, fewer science, than in some years," he admitted, indicating that this year's scientific works were not necessarily less interesting but, under the consideration of the panel, "failed on the quality of writing test." Last year's winner was "Into The Silence," an explanation of Mount Everest's post-war allure by anthropologist Wade Davis, and the Himalayan king features again courtesy of Harriet Tuckey with "Everest: The First Ascent." Well-known broadcast historian Simon Schama provides "The Story of the Jews," which accompanies a TV series of the same name, while Consertative party stalwarts Hurd and Young combine for a warts and all account of Benjamin Disraeli's life and legacy. Party leader Margaret Thatcher is present by way of timely biography, "The Return of a King" recalls 19th century British presence in Kabul and wider Afghanistan, and 1930s fashion leader Diana Vreeland is firmly contextualized in Amanda Mackenzie Stuart's lively account. But it's not all hagiography and days of old. There's the parenthood of unusual or unusually gifted children in "Far from the Tree," the industry and industrialization of bees in "A Sting in the Tale," and a guide to Britain's abandoned buildings in "The Memory Palace." Diversity extends into the longlist's publisher roster, too, with Bloomsbury, Jonathan Cape, Weidenfeld & Nicolson and William Collins registering two tomes apiece. The $20,000 prize, which is not restricted by authors' nationality, but rather casts its net over English-language non-fiction works made available in the UK, will publish its shortlist on September 30, with a winner announced on November 4. The Samuel Johnson Prize 2013 Longlist "A Sting in the Tale" by Dave Goulson "Danubia" by Simon Winder "Diana Vreeland" by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart "Disraeli" by Douglas Hurd and Edward Young "Edmund Burke" by Jesse Norman "Empires of the Dead" by David Crane "Everest: The First Ascent" by Harriet Tuckey "Far From The Tree" by Andrew Solomon "Margaret Thatcher" by Charles Moore "Modernity Britain" by David Kynaston "Small Wars, Far Away Places" by Michael Burleigh "The Memory Palace" by Edward Hollis "The Pike" by Lucy Hughes-Hallett "The Return of a King" by William Dalrymple "The Story of the Jews" by Simon Schama "The War That Ended Peace" by Margaret Macmillan "Time's Anvil" by Richard Morris "Under Another Sky" by Charlotte Higgins - AFP/Relaxnews, September 8, 2013. |
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