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BBC FOUR SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR
NON-FICTION 1999
ANTONY BEEVOR WINS NEW SAMUEL JOHNSON
Antony Beevor was tonight named as the
first winner of the fiercely contested 1999 Samuel Johnson
Prize, the UK’s most valuable non-fiction award, for STALINGRAD,
published by Penguin.
Beevor, a distinguished historian and novelist,
wins £30,000 for this epic account of Hitler’s
siege of the Russian city – an event that was
to become a decisive turning point in the Second World War.
Broadcaster James Naughtie, chair of the judges, made the
announcement at a dinner held at London’s Banqueting
House.
The cheque for £30,000 was presented by fellow judge
Cherie Booth.
James Naughtie commented:
‘STALINGRAD is stunning history. It
is meticulous and original. Above
all it speaks directly to its readers with force and a luminous
humanity. From a shortlist of big books, we decided
in the end that it was the biggest.’
STALINGRAD, currently at number 2 in the
UK bestseller lists, has also become an international publishing
success. A completely fresh account of the battle of Stalingrad,
the book conveys the reality of one of the most terrifying
conflicts ever known.
Now in its first year, The Samuel Johnson Prize is the only
major prize to celebrate the variety and originality of non-fiction
publishing today. This year’s award was presented
on the anniversary of the first publication of Samuel Johnson’s
historic dictionary on 14 June 1755.
The winning book was chosen from a shortlist of six, announced
last month. Each of the other shortlisted authors receives
a cheque for £2,500.
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