A $100,000 History Book !

The Cundill History Prize

On October 30 the author of an historical work that exhibits "scholarship, originality, literary quality and broad appeal," will receive $75,000 (US) as a result of winning an award established by F. Peter Cundill. His intention is to encourage "informed public debate through the wider dissemination of history writing to new audiences around the world."

The three finalists are listed along with sample reviews. The Cundill Prize Long List for 2024 is provided at the bottom.

Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights by Dylan C. Penningroth (Liveright Publishing)

"Dylan Penningroth explodes conventional wisdom about African Americans and the law. He approaches his subject with the eye of a law professor, the tools of a social historian, and the sensibility of a skilled storyteller. The result is a remarkable book that stands civil rights history on its head and shows "how ordinary Black people used law in their everyday lives." The Register - Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 122, No.1, 2024.

Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass (Picador/Pan Macmillan)

"A detailed and sharply observed account of the 1946-1948 Tokyo trials – proceedings that were implicitly racist and hypocritical, and with a prosecution team that was led by a ‘blundering alcoholic’....Bass has written a massively long and detailed book, always lively and judgmental. He brings out not only the legal arguments, but the colour of the great tribunal itself: sharp sketches of the protagonists, of the stress on the multinational judges penned up month after month in the Imperial hotel, of Tojo Hideki among the seven shabby old men shuffling to the gallows in Sugamo prison." (Review by Neal Ascherson, The Guardian, Jan. 21, 2024.

Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal (Penguin Random House)

" prodigiously researched and enlightening study from University of North Carolina historian DuVal (Independence Lost) recenters the past 1,000 years of Native North American history around the political power exercised by Indigenous governments...Tracing numerous Native governments across the ensuing centuries--including the 19th century's Cherokee republic and alliance of Great Plains nations--DuVal provides a profoundly empowered history of Native America. This keen reframing will appeal to fans of David Graeber and David Wengrow's The Dawn of Everything." Publisher's Weekly, Jan. 22, 2024.

Sources: See McGill's website for The Cundill History Prize.

  Back in 2017 on the 10th anniversary of The Cundill I posted this in MM -"Christmas Shopping for Historians." See also, "The Cundill History Prize" in 2019 and "F. Peter Cundill" in Oct. 2021.

The Bonus:

For prize winning historical works covering geographical areas from Asia to North and South America, see: American Historical Association Announces 2024 Prize Winners.

The Cundill History Prize 2024 (Long List)

Author	Title	Publisher / Imprint
Gary J. Bass	Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia	Pan Macmillan / Picador
Lauren Benton	They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence	Princeton University Press
Joya Chatterji	Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century	Penguin Random House / TheBodley Head and Yale University Press
Kathleen DuVal	Native Nations: A Millennium in North America	Penguin Random House
Amitav Ghosh	Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories	Hachette / John Murray
Catherine Hall	Lucky Valley: Edward Long and the History of Racial Capitalism	Cambridge University Press
Julian Jackson	France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain	Belknap Press
Patrick Joyce	Remembering Peasants: A Personal History of a Vanished World	Simon & Schuster / Scribner
Ruby Lal	Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan	Yale University Press
Andrew C. McKevitt	Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America	University of North Carolina Press
Dylan C. Penningroth	Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights	WW Norton / Liveright
Stuart A. Reid	The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination	Penguin Random House / Alfred A. Knopf
David Van Reybrouck	Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World	Penguin Random House / The Bodley Head and WW Norton

The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize For Political Writing

    The bad weather continues so I will provide, for readers of non-fiction, five books which are the finalists for this prize, the winner of which will be announced in early May. Unfortunately, the London Public Libraries do not have the books by Savoie or Perrin. There are 31 "holds" on Fire Weather.

   The prize is named for Elizabeth Shaughnessy Cohen who was born here in London and who died twenty five years ago in the House of Commons. 
    The prize winner gets $25,000. I noticed that Mr. Vaillant was the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize which is a good one to win - $125,000! Click on that link if you want to find more good books and the winner of that prize for 2024 will be announced in a few days.

1. The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, Astra Taylor.
“Astra Taylor argues that while insecurity is central to the human condition, we have built a society that compounds and exacerbates that reality, and one where elites benefit from inequitable suffering. By intertwining her own story with the wisdom of poets and philosophers, Taylor encourages interconnectedness and shared vulnerability to reimagine our overwhelmed society into a more caring one. This is a helpful, hopeful book written at a time fraught with unease and negativity. The Age of Insecurity provides important perspectives on how we got here and shards of light that might just lead us out of this anxious place.”

2. Canada: Beyond Grudges, Grievances, and Disunity, Donald J. Savoie.“In this sweeping analysis of the internal divisions and identities that shape our nation’s political fabric, Donald J. Savoie lays bare the contradictions of a federal state and national political institutions that often fail to reflect Canada’s deeply entrenched regional, economic, linguistic, and cultural fault lines. The result has been politics of victimhood and grievance. Even so, those differences have created a national will to overcome them. Writing with clarity and conviction, Savoie distills the complexities of federalism into an easily accessible exploration of our nation. He captures the essence of a resilient Canadian spirit, where compromise and inclusive national social programs have forged an attachment to Canada greater than the forces that divide us.”

3. Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, John Vaillant.

“Like a blazing inferno that commands our attention and awe, we cannot look away from Fire Weather. John Vaillant brings the devastating 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire to life by introducing us, almost affectionately, to the human beings on the frontlines of the fossil fuel industry and the fire it produces that threatens us all. This is a deeply compelling, skillfully crafted story packed with information but completely free of ponderous lecturing. It is terrifying in its honest, textured description of what we have wrought in the name of progress, what we stand to lose, and where we might find the possibility of hope.”

4. Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial, Benjamin Perrin.

“Gripping and timely, Indictment delivers a powerful vision for a complete transformation of Canada’s criminal justice system. Drawing on interviews with frontline workers, survivors of crime, and repeat offenders, Benjamin Perrin masterfully weaves together vivid case studies with the latest research on how to create a safer society for all. Shared experiences from marginalized groups, such as Indigenous people and Black Canadians, shape Perrin’s trauma-informed proposals to tackle everything from the opioid crisis to the problems with current jails. This beautifully written and rigorous critique is sure to enlighten any reader and offers fresh ideas and vital information to policymakers for overdue justice.”

5. Not Here: Why American Democracy Is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself, Rob Goodman.

“Not Here is both a frightening and reassuring story written with clarity and absorbing analysis. With an American perspective, Goodman explores the decline of democracy and rise of authoritarianism in the United States and what it means for Canada. Deep social and economic ties between the two nations mean Canada is not exempt from the same tyrannous forces. In fact, Canadian politics shows similar strains, some of which originate from within our own borders. But Goodman has good news: we can find comfort knowing Canada has values, history, traditions, and institutions that can withstand the autocratic threat.”

To learn more about The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize For Political Writing and a list of the past winners see, Writers' Trust Canada. 
 One of my recent posts about award winning books is "Good Book Awards" which discusses the Scotiabank Giller Prize and The Cundill History Prize.