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2006 - Longlist
The judges for the 2006 BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize announced
the longlist today (27th March). The prize is the world’s
richest non-fiction prize and is worth £30,000 to the
winner.
From 127 entries and 41 call-ins, the 19 titles on the longlist
range widely in interest and continue the reputation of the
prize for diverse and thought-provoking books.
The list includes a flamboyant biography of a self-proclaimed
Muslim prince; an engrossing account of Soviet-U.S. relations
from WWII to the collapse of the U.S.S.R.; an intimate and
personal reflection of a man’s life written when he
thought he was dying; a lively biography of the first domestic
diva of the modern age, Mrs. Beeton; and an evocative ‘blog’ by
an anonymous woman in war torn Iraq.
Professor Robert Winston, Chair of the judges, comments:
"The judges were really delighted by the outstanding
quality of the submissions for the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson
Prize for Non-Fiction this year. It is hardly surprising
that drawing up a longlist was a very tough undertaking.
But we have read and chosen really excellent books – all
outstandingly well-written - and the longlist contains an
exceptionally wide variety of genres from modern to ancient
history, politics, philosophy, science and art, biography
and autobiography. The books on this list will undoubtedly
excite and entrance readers from all walks of life – but
it looks as if finalising a shortlist is going to be excessively
difficult."
Robert Winston is joined by an engaging and dynamic panel
of judges who offer a wide range of literary, journalistic
and academic skills and experience. They are theatre director
and author Sir Richard Eyre; author and journalist Pankaj
Mishra; novelist and columnist Cristina Odone; and Literary
Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, Michael Prodger.
The winner of The BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction
2006 will be announced at an awards dinner at the Savoy Hotel,
London on Wednesday, 14 June and will be broadcast live on
BBC FOUR.
THE LONGLIST:
TITLE
OF BOOK |
AUTHOR |
PUBLISHER |
Untold Stories |
Alan Bennett |
Faber and Faber/Profile |
The Sale of the
Late
King’s Goods |
Jerry Brotton |
Pan MacMillan |
Bad Faith |
Carmen Callil |
Jonathan Cape |
The Ongoing Moment |
Geoff Dyer |
Time Warner
Book Group
/Abacus |
The Cold War |
John Lewis Gaddis |
Penguin/
Allen Lane |
Mozart’s Women |
Jane Glover |
Pan Macmillan |
The Short Life and Long
Times of Mrs Beeton |
Kathryn Hughes |
Fourth Estate |
The Sailor in the
Wardrobe |
Hugo Hamilton |
Fourth Estate |
Post War |
Tony Judt |
William Heinemann |
The Great Wall: China Against
the World 1000BC - 2000AD |
Julia Lovell |
Atlantic Books |
Ancient Americans |
Charles C Mann |
Granta Books |
Rosebery |
Leo McKinstry |
John Murray |
Ivan's War |
Catherine Merridale |
Faber and Faber |
Before the Fall-Out |
Diana Preston |
Transworld/
Doubleday |
The Orientalist |
Tom Reiss |
Chatto and Windus |
Baghdad Burning |
Riverbend (Anonymous, but
identity known) |
Marion Boyars Publishers |
1599: A Year In The
Life Of William Shakespeare |
James Shapiro |
Faber and Faber |
Witnesses Of War |
Nicholas Stargardt |
Jonathan Cape |
After The Victorians |
A N Wilson |
Hutchinson |
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