"All the best stories are true."
Every year the Baillie Gifford Prize has the impressive ambition of trying to identify the year's best nonfiction book. Judges read dozens of books trying to find ones that combine excellent writing with important topics.
Below, our annual interviews with the chair of the judging panel, as well as book recommendations we have on file from some of the authors whose books have been shortlisted for the prize.
Ahead of the announcement of this year's shortlist in mid-October, we've also listed all 13 books that made the 2020 Baillie Gifford longlist in our 'best nonfiction books' section. From past experience, we can confidently say that at this stage of the prize, these will already all be excellent books, with those making the shortlist, and indeed the eventual winner, being based partly on chance and the interests/composition of the judging panel.
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1
Emil and the Detectives
by Eileen Hall (translator) & Erich Kästner -
2
Private View: The Lively World of British Art
by Antony Armstrong-Jones (Lord Snowdon), Bryan Robertson & John Russell -
3
A Free House!: Or, The Artist as Craftsman
by Walter Richard Sickert -
4
Memoirs of the Life of John Constable: Composed Chiefly of His Letters
by C.R. Leslie -
5
Nollekens and his Times: Comprehending A Life Of That Celebrated Sculptor, And Memoirs Of Several Contemporary Artists
The best books on Lucian Freud, recommended by William Feaver
The best books on Lucian Freud, recommended by William Feaver
Though ferociously private, Lucian Freud spoke about painting, the art world and his life and loves to his confidante and frequent collaborator, William Feaver, on the phone most weeks for many years. Feaver’s transcript forms the core of his definitive two-volume biography. He speaks with us about the best books for understanding the life and work of this renowned painter, and the very particular collaboration that led to this magisterial account of one of the finest painters of the last century.
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1
Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock
by Nik Cohn -
2
British Hit Singles and Albums
ed. David Roberts -
3
John Lennon in My Life
by Nicholas Schaffner & Pete Shotton -
4
Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette
by Ronnie Spector & Vince Waldron -
5
I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie
by Pamela Des Barres
The best books on Rock and Roll, recommended by Craig Brown
The best books on Rock and Roll, recommended by Craig Brown
We might console ourselves with the thought that rock stars are generally miserable, but the truth is that most of them seem to have a great time. Journalist, satirist and Beatles biographer Craig Brown selects five of the best books on that rock and roll lifestyle.
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1
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
by Casey Cep -
2
On Chapel Sands: My Mother and Other Missing Persons
by Laura Cumming -
3
The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth 1922 - 1968
by William Feaver -
4
Maoism: A Global History
by Julia Lovell -
5
Guest House for Young Widows: Among the women of ISIS
by Azadeh Moaveni -
6
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
by Hallie Rubenhold
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019, recommended by Stig Abell
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2019, recommended by Stig Abell
Every year, the Baillie Gifford Prize judges seek to identify the very best nonfiction books published in the last year. Here, the chair of this year’s judging panel Stig Abell talks us through the 2019 shortlist: a thrilling line-up of books that are as notable for their literary prowess as for their weight and significance.
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1
Mao’s Last Revolution
by Michael Schoenhals & Roderick MacFarquhar -
2
Maoism at the Grassroots
edited by Jeremy Brown and Matthew D. Johnson -
3
Red Star over China
by Edgar Snow -
4
The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal's Maoist Revolution
by Aditya Adhikari -
5
A Critical Introduction to Mao
by Timothy Creek
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
The best books on Maoism, recommended by Julia Lovell
While researching Maoism, China expert Julia Lovell battled against two incorrect assumptions: “firstly that Maoism is a story of China; and secondly that Maoism is a story of the past.” Here she recommends five books for coming to grips with the global, still-relevant impact of Maoism.
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1
Hello World: How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine
by Hannah Fry -
2
The Spy and the Traitor
by Ben Macintyre -
3
Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man
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4
Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
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5
Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy
by Serhii Plokhy -
6
She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity
by Carl Zimmer
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2018, recommended by Fiammetta Rocco
The Best Nonfiction Books of 2018, recommended by Fiammetta Rocco
It’s a difficult task: to identify the very best nonfiction books of the year. But the Baillie Gifford Prize aims to do just that. The chair of the prize’s 2018 judging panel Fiammetta Rocco talks to us about the six fascinating titles that made the shortlist.
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1
The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason, 1798 to Modern Times
by Christopher de Bellaigue -
2
How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed Aids
by David France -
3
Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe
by Kapka Kassabova -
4
An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic
by Daniel Mendelsohn -
5
To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death
by Mark O'Connell -
6
Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900
by Simon Schama
Best Nonfiction Books of 2017, recommended by Peter Bazalgette
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1
The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land In Between
by Hisham Matar -
2
Negroland: A Memoir
by Margo Jefferson -
3
Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets
by Svetlana Alexievich -
4
East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
by Philippe Sands -
5
The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War
by Robert J. Gordon
Best Nonfiction Books of 2016, recommended by Stephanie Flanders
The best books on Spies, recommended by Ben Macintyre
The British public-school system, with its hidden homosexuality and feelings of loneliness, encouraged subterfuge and led to a generation of great spy writers and spies, suggests author and journalist Ben Macintyre. He picks the best books on spies.
The best books on Transhumanism, recommended by Mark O'Connell
The journalist and author Mark O’Connell explored the nature of transhumanism—the belief that technology will help us evolve beyond our current physical and mental limitations—in his award-winning book To Be A Machine. Here he selects five key books that speak directly to the movement.