The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced at 3 pm on April 18. In addition to recognizing journalistic achievements (including locals: finalist The Baltimore Sun and winner The Washington Post), the awards added new books to many people's to-read lists.
The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Fiction
A debut novel that tells the story of a double agent: a man of mixed French and Vietnamese ancestry who fought for the Viet Cong, but is living in the United States following the collapse of South Vietnam. The prize committee described the book as, "A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story."
Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Drama
This musical seems like it is everywhere in popular culture these days, shining light on the tragically-shortened life of the first United States Treasury Secretary: Alexander Hamilton. The book has sparked renewed interest in this Caribbean-immigrant turned founding father in a wide range of customers (even, perhaps, our own Director!)
Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America, T.J. Stiles, History
This book, moved from Biography by the prize committee, explores the contradictory history of a man best known for his fateful death (in the battle alternately known as the Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer's Last Stand). As the committee says, "It casts surprising new light on a near-mythic American figure, a man both widely known and little understood."
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, William Finnegan, Biography
This autobiography and "old-school adventure story" tells the tale of award-winning journalist William Finnegan and his relationship with surfing. Rooted in his childhood in California and Hawaii, surfing has remained an important part of his life through a career that has taken him around the globe.
Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, Joby Warrick, General Nonfiction
Journalist Warrick explores the events and decisions that sparked one of the most potent threats in our world today. This book draws on sources in the CIA and Jordan to provide a detailed account of the people and events that form the basis for the Islamic State group.
Labels: From the Collection, May 2016
