I figure, who but the author cares about the tenth or fifteenth book on a "short" list? CBC Books had a twenty-five title shortlist recently.
But the Cundill Prize's short list (8 this year) is sometimes the most interesting thing it issues. The Cundill goes looking for the best book about history published in English in the past year, and it gathers a crew of mostly Ivy League and Oxbridge historians to pick 'em. Their selection usually offers a look at what some credible observers consider to represent some of the world's best historical writing at this moment. When they get down to the winner, well, we may or may not be interested in its particular topic. But there's gotta be something in the longlist that sparks some interest.
This year's eight books, introduced by previous winner Ada Ferrer:
Ada Ferrer, Chair of the Jury, said: “The eight books on our list are all quite different from one another, but all share some essential characteristics: analytical sharpness, engaging writing, and a firm belief that what the past reveals must be urgently understood. The committee is so proud to present this slate of eight books to the world.”
- Emily Callaci (Allen Lane) Wages for Housework: The Story of a Movement, an Idea, a Promise
- Kornel Chang (The Belknap Press of Harvard University) A Fractured Liberation: Korea Under US Occupation
- Marlene L. Daut (Knopf) The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe
- Greg Grandin (Penguin Press) America, América: A New History of the New World
- Benjamin Nathans (Princeton University Press) To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement
- Lyndal Roper (John Murray Press) Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War
- Sophia Rosenfeld (Princeton University Press) The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life
- Martha A. Sandweiss (Princeton University Press) The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West
The only one I have heard any review comment about is Roper on the German Peasants' War. Winner: October 30.
