Year
|
Author
|
Title
|
Subject
|
Result
|
Ref.
|
1981
|
David McCullough
|
Mornings on Horseback
|
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909 (1858–1919)
|
Winner
|
|
1982
|
Gay Wilson Allen
|
Waldo Emerson: A Biography
|
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher, essayist, and poet (1803–1882)
|
Winner
|
|
1983
|
Seymour Hersh
|
The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House
|
Henry Kissinger, German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant (1923–2023)
|
Winner
|
|
1984
|
Ernst Pawel
|
The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka
|
Franz Kafka, Bohemian writer from Prague (1883–1924)
|
Winner
|
|
1985
|
Michael Scammell
|
Solzhenitsyn: A Biography
|
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer and historian (1918–2008)
|
Winner
|
|
1986
|
Maynard Mack
|
Alexander Pope: A Life
|
Alexander Pope, English poet (1688–1744)
|
Winner
|
|
1987
|
Kenneth S. Lynn
|
Hemingway
|
Ernest Hemingway, American author and journalist (1899–1961)
|
Winner
|
|
1988
|
Brenda Maddox
|
Nora: The Real Life of Molly Bloom
|
Nora Barnacle, Muse and wife of Irish author James Joyce (1884–1951)
|
Winner
|
|
1989
|
Tobias Wolff
|
This Boy's Life: A Memoir
|
|
Winner
|
|
1990
|
Geoffrey C. Ward
|
A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 to 1945 (1882–1945)
|
Winner
|
[1]
|
Robert A. Caro
|
Means of Ascent: Volume 2 of The Years of Lyndon Johnson
|
Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969 (1908–1973)
|
Finalist
|
[1]
|
Deirdre Bair
|
Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography
|
Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher, social theorist and activist (1908–1986)
|
Patricia O'Toole
|
The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams and His Friends, 1880–1918
|
Henry Adams, American historian and Adams political family member (1838–1918)
|
Hugo Young
|
The Iron Lady: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher
|
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 (1925–2013)
|
1991
|
T. H. Watkins
|
Righteous Pilgrim: The Life and Times of Harold L. Ickes, 1874–1952
|
Harold L. Ickes, American politician, Secretary of State from 1933 to 1946 (1874–1952)
|
Winner
|
[2]
|
Natalie Kusz
|
Road Song: A Memoir
|
|
Finalist
|
[2]
|
Benita Eisler
|
O'Keeffe and Stieglitz: An American Romance
|
Georgia O'Keeffe, American modernist artist (1887–1986), and Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (1864–1946)
|
Willard Sterne Randall
|
Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor
|
Benedict Arnold, American military officer during the Revolutionary War who defected to the British (1741–1801)
|
John Richardson
|
A Life of Picasso: Volume 1. The Prodigy, 1881–1906
|
Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor, known for co-founding the Cubist movement (1881–1973)
|
1992
|
Blanche Wiesen Cook
|
Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One, 1884–1933
|
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (1884–1962)
|
Winner
|
[3]
|
Edwin Haviland Miller
|
Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne
|
Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (1804–1864)
|
Finalist
|
[3]
|
Deena Ruth Rosenberg
|
Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin
|
George Gershwin, American pianist and composer (1898–1937), and his brother, Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (1896–1983)
|
Kenneth Silverman
|
Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance
|
Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and literary critic (1809–1849)
|
William Martin
|
A Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story
|
Billy Graham, American Christian evangelist (1918–2018)
|
1993
|
John Mack Faragher
|
Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer
|
Daniel Boone, American pioneer and frontiersman (1734–1820)
|
Winner
|
[4]
|
Antonia Fraser
|
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
|
Wives of Henry VIII
|
Finalist
|
[4]
|
Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III, and Peter W. Kunhardt
|
Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography
|
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865 (1809–1865)
|
William Lanouette and Bela Silard
|
Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, the Man Behind the Bomb
|
Leo Szilard, Hungarian-American physicist and inventor (1898–1964)
|
Joseph Brent
|
Charles Sanders Peirce: A Life
|
Charles Sanders Peirce, American thinker who founded pragmatism (1839–1914)
|
1994
|
Mikal Gilmore
|
Shot in the Heart
|
Gary Gilmore, American murderer (1940–1977)
|
Winner
|
[5]
|
Ruth Butler
|
Rodin: The Shape of Genius
|
Auguste Rodin, French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture (1840–1917)
|
Finalist
|
[5]
|
Gerald Gunther
|
Learned Hand: The Man and the Judge
|
Learned Hand, American jurist (1872–1961)
|
Joan D. Hedrick
|
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life
|
Harriet Beecher Stowe, American abolitionist and author (1811–1896)
|
Brian Keenan
|
An Evil Cradling
|
|
1995
|
Doris Lessing
|
Under My Skin: Volume One of My Autobiography, to 1949
|
|
Winner
|
[6]
|
Susan Quinn
|
Marie Curie: A Life
|
Marie Curie, Polish-French physicist and chemist (1867–1934)
|
Finalist
|
[6]
|
Tobias Wolff
|
In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War
|
|
Alix Kates Shulman
|
Drinking the Rain: A Memoir
|
|
Brenda Maddox
|
D.H. Lawrence: The Story of a Marriage
|
D. H. Lawrence, English writer and poet (1885–1930)
|
1996
|
Frank McCourt
|
Angela's Ashes: A Memoir
|
|
Winner
|
[7]
|
Fiona MacCarthy
|
William Morris: A Life for Our Time
|
William Morris, British textile designer, novelist, and socialist activist (1834–1896)
|
Finalist
|
[7]
|
Lyle Leverich
|
Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams
|
Tennessee Williams, American playwright (1911–1983)
|
Simon Callow
|
Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu
|
Orson Welles, American actor, director, writer, and producer (1915–1985)
|
John Richardson
|
A Life of Picasso: Volume 2. The Cubist Rebel, 1907–1916
|
Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor, known for co-founding the Cubist movement (1881–1973)
|
Hannah Pakula
|
An Uncommon Woman: The Empress Frederick
|
Victoria, Princess Royal, princess of the United Kingdom and German Empress (1840–1901)
|
Gail Levin
|
Edward Hopper: An Intimate Biography
|
Edward Hopper, American realist painter, widely known for his oil paintings (1882–1967)
|
Joan Mellen
|
Hellman and Hammett: The Legendary Passion of Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett
|
Lillian Hellman, American dramatist and screenwriter (1905–1984), and Dashiell Hammett, American writer (1894–1961)
|
1997
|
Sam Tanenhaus
|
Whittaker Chambers: A Biography
|
Whittaker Chambers, Defected communist spy, writer, editor (1901– 1961)
|
Winner
|
[8]
|
A.M. Sperber and Eric Lax
|
Bogart
|
Humphrey Bogart, American actor (1899–1957)
|
Finalist
|
[8]
|
James Salter
|
Burning the Days: Recollection
|
|
Alan Schom
|
Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life
|
Napoleon, French Emperor 1804–1814 and again in 1815 (1769–1821)
|
Gavin Lambert
|
Nazimova: A Biography
|
Alla Nazimova, Russian-American actress, director, and producer (1879–1945)
|
1998
|
A. Scott Berg
|
Lindbergh
|
Charles Lindbergh, American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist (1902–1974)
|
Winner
|
[9]
|
Fintan O'Toole
|
A Traitor's Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751–1816
|
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (1751–1816)
|
Finalist
|
[9]
|
Barbara Goldsmith
|
Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism, and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull
|
Victoria Woodhull, American women's suffrage movement leader (1838–1927)
|
Hilary Spurling
|
The Unknown Matisse: Volume 1. The Early Years, 1869–1908
|
Henri Matisse, 20th-century French artist (1869–1954)
|
Graham Robb
|
Victor Hugo: A Biography
|
Victor Hugo, French novelist, poet, and dramatist (1802–1885)
|
1999
|
Judith Thurman
|
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette
|
Colette, French writer, (1873–1954)
|
Winner
|
[10]
|
Benita Eisler
|
Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame
|
Lord Byron, 19th-century English Romantic poet and lyricist (1788–1824)
|
Finalist
|
[10]
|
Robert Clark
|
My Grandfather's House: A Genealogy of Doubt and Faith
|
|
Simon Schama
|
Rembrandt's Eyes
|
Rembrandt, 17th-century Dutch painter and printmaker (1606–1669)
|
Jerome Loving
|
Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself
|
Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)
|
2000
|
William J. Cooper, Jr.
|
Jefferson Davis, American
|
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865 (1808–1889)
|
Winner
|
[11]
|
Joseph J. Ellis
|
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
|
Founding Fathers of the United States
|
Finalist
|
[11]
|
Ian Kershaw
|
Hitler: Volume 2. 1936–1945 Nemesis
|
Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany (1889–1945)
|
Philip Short
|
Mao: A Life
|
Mao Zedong, also known as chairman Mao, founding father of the People's Republic of China (1893–1976)
|
H.W. Brands
|
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
|
Benjamin Franklin, American polymath and a Founding Father of the United States (1706–1790)
|
2001
|
Edmund Morris
|
Theodore Rex
|
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909 (1858–1919)
|
Winner
|
[12][13]
|
Adam Sisman
|
Boswell's Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Dr. Johnson
|
James Boswell, Scottish lawyer, diarist, and author (1740–1795)
|
Finalist
|
[12]
|
David McCullough
|
John Adams
|
John Adams, 2nd president of the United States, serving from 1797 to 1801 (1735–1826)
|
Antonia Fraser
|
Marie Antoinette: The Journey
|
Marie Antoinette, Queen of France from 1774 to 1792 (1755–1793)
|
Laura Hillenbrand
|
Seabiscuit: An American Legend
|
Seabiscuit, Champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States
|
2002
|
Robert A. Caro
|
Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol. 3
|
Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969 (1908–1973)
|
Winner
|
[14]
|
T. J. Stiles
|
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War
|
Jesse James, American outlaw (1847–1882)
|
Finalist
|
[14][15]
|
Claire Tomalin
|
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
|
Samuel Pepys, English diarist (1633–1703)
|
Daniel Ellsberg
|
Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers
|
|
Gioconda Belli
|
The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
|
|
2003
|
Neil Smith
|
American Empire: Roosevelt's Geographer and the Prelude to Globalization
|
Isaiah Bowman, American geographer and President of Johns Hopkins University, 1935–1948 (1878–1950)
|
Winner
|
[16]
|
Robert Hughes
|
Goya
|
Francisco Goya, 18th and 19th-century Spanish painter and printmaker (1746–1828)
|
Finalist
|
[16]
|
Deirdre Bair
|
Jung: A Biography
|
Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (1875–1961)
|
T.J. Binyon
|
Pushkin: A Biography
|
Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet, playwright, and novelist (1799–1837)
|
Rebecca Solnit
|
River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West
|
Eadweard Muybridge, English-American photographer, known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection (1830–1904)
|
2004
|
Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan
|
de Kooning: An American Master
|
Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist (1904– 1997)
|
Winner
|
[17]
|
Ron Chernow
|
Alexander Hamilton
|
Alexander Hamilton, American founding father and statesman (1757–1804)
|
Finalist
|
[17][18]
|
Richard Rhodes
|
John James Audubon: The Making of an American
|
John James Audubon, American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist (1785–1851)
|
Michael Ybarra
|
Washington Gone Crazy: Senator Pat McCarran and the Great American Communist Hunt
|
Pat McCarran, American judge and politician (1876–1954)
|
Stephen Greenblatt
|
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
|
William Shakespeare, English poet, playwright, and actor (1564–1616)
|
2005
|
Hilary Spurling
|
Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse, the Conquest of Colour, 1909–1954
|
Henri Matisse, 20th-century French artist (1869–1954)
|
Winner
|
[19]
|
Andrew Delbanco
|
Melville: His World and Work
|
Herman Melville, 19th-century American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (1819–1891)
|
Finalist
|
[19]
|
Marion Elizabeth Rodgers
|
Mencken: The American Iconoclast
|
H. L. Mencken, American journalist and writer (1880–1956)
|
Doris Kearns Goodwin
|
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
|
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865
|
Steven Watts
|
The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century
|
Henry Ford, American industrialist and businessman (1863–1947)
|
2006
|
Neal Gabler
|
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination
|
Walt Disney, American entrepreneur, animator and producer (1901–1966)
|
Winner
|
[20]
|
Jeffrey Goldberg
|
Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across the Middle East Divide
|
|
Finalist
|
[20]
|
Rodney Bolt
|
The Librettist of Venice: The Remarkable Life of Lorenzo Da Ponte
|
Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest (1749–1838)
|
Daniel Mendelsohn
|
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
|
|
Debby Applegate
|
The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
|
Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman and abolitionist (1813–1887)
|
2007
|
Simon Sebag Montefiore
|
Young Stalin
|
Joseph Stalin, Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953 (1878–1953)
|
Winner
|
[21]
|
Robert Morgan
|
Boone: A Biography
|
Daniel Boone, American pioneer and frontiersman (1734–1820)
|
Finalist
|
[21]
|
Nancy Isenberg
|
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr
|
Aaron Burr, 3rd vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 (1756–1836)
|
Tim Jeal
|
Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa's Greatest Explorer
|
Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh journalist and explorer, famous for his exploration of Central Africa (1841–1904)
|
Michael J. Neufeld
|
Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War
|
Wernher von Braun, German-American aerospace engineer (1912–1977)
|
2008
|
Paula J. Giddings
|
Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching
|
Ida B. Wells, African-American civil rights activist (1862–1931)
|
Winner
|
[22]
|
Jon Meacham
|
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
|
Andrew Jackson, 7th president of the United States from 1829 to 1837 (1767–1845)
|
Finalist
|
[22]
|
Jackie Wullschlager
|
Chagall: A Biography
|
Marc Chagall, French artist (1887–1985)
|
Ernest Freeberg
|
Democracy's Prisoner: Eugene V. Debs, the Great War, and the Right to Dissent
|
|
H.W. Brands
|
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
|
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945
|
2009
|
Linda Gordon
|
Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits
|
Dorothea Lange, American photojournalist (1895–1965)
|
Winner
|
[23]
|
Michael Scammell
|
Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic
|
Arthur Koestler, Jewish Hungarian-British author and journalist (1905–1983)
|
Finalist
|
[23]
|
Melvin I. Urofsky
|
Louis D. Brandeis: A Life
|
Louis D. Brandeis, United States Supreme Court justice from 1916 to 1939 (1856–1941)
|
Kenneth Whyte
|
The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst
|
William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher (1863–1951)
|
Kirstin Downey
|
The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
|
Frances Perkins, American politician and workers rights advocate (1880–1965)
|
2010
|
Laura Hillenbrand
|
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
|
Louis Zamperini, American athlete and army officer (1917–2014)
|
Winner
|
[24][25]
|
Edmund Morris
|
Colonel Roosevelt
|
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909 (1858–1919)
|
Finalist
|
[24]
|
Miranda Carter
|
George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I
|
King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
|
Christopher Hitchens
|
Hitch-22: A Memoir
|
|
Selina Hastings
|
The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham: A Biography
|
W. Somerset Maugham, English playwright and writer (1874–1965)
|
2011
|
John A. Farrell
|
Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned
|
Clarence Darrow, American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union (1857– 1938)
|
Winner
|
[26]
|
Robert K. Massie
|
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
|
Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796 (1729–1796)
|
Finalist
|
[26]
|
Manning Marable
|
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
|
Malcolm X, African-American human rights activist (1925–1965)
|
Mark Whitaker
|
My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir
|
|
Alexandra Styron
|
Reading My Father: A Memoir
|
|
2012
|
Robert A. Caro
|
The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson
|
Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969 (1908–1973)
|
Winner
|
[27]
|
Alice Kessler-Harris
|
A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman
|
Lillian Hellman, American dramatist and screenwriter (1905–1984)
|
Finalist
|
[27]
|
H.W. Brands
|
The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
|
Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877 (1822–1885)
|
R.J. Smith
|
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown
|
James Brown, American musician (1933–2006)
|
David Nasaw
|
The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy
|
Joseph P. Kennedy, American businessman and politician (1888–1969)
|
2013
|
Marie Arana
|
Bolivar: American Liberator
|
Simon Bolívar, Venezuelan military and political leader (1783–1830)
|
Winner
|
[28]
|
Deborah Solomon
|
American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell
|
Norman Rockwell, 20th-century American painter and illustrator (1894–1978)
|
Finalist
|
[28]
|
Edna O'Brien
|
Country Girl: A Memoir
|
|
Benita Eisler
|
The Red Man's Bones: George Catlin, Artist and Showman
|
George Catlin, 19th-century American painter, adventurer, lawyer, author, and traveler (1796–1872)
|
A. Scott Berg
|
Wilson
|
Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921 (1856–1924)
|
2014
|
Andrew Roberts
|
Napoleon: A Life
|
Napoleon, French Emperor 1804–1814 and again in 1815 (1769–1821)
|
Winner
|
[29]
|
Robert M. Dowling
|
Eugene O'Neill: A Life in Four Acts
|
Eugene O'Neill, American playwright, and Nobel laureate in Literature (1888–1953)
|
Finalist
|
[29][30]
|
Kirstin Downey
|
Isabella: The Warrior Queen
|
Isabella of Castile, Queen of Castile who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey and established the Spanish Inquisition (1451–1504)
|
Stephen Kotkin
|
Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928
|
Joseph Stalin, Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953 (1878–1953)
|
Adam Begley
|
Updike
|
John Updike, American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic (1932–2009)
|
2015
|
Hayden Herrera
|
Listening to Stone: The Art and Life of Isamu Noguchi
|
Isamu Noguchi, Japanese-American artist (1904–1988)
|
Winner
|
[31]
|
Terry Alford
|
Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth
|
John Wilkes Booth, 19th-century American stage actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln (1838–1865)
|
Finalist
|
[31]
|
Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs
|
Jonas Salk: A Life
|
Jonas Salk, 20th-century American virologist; inventor of the polio vaccine (1914–1995)
|
John Norris
|
Mary McGrory The First Queen of Journalism
|
Mary McGrory, American journalist and columnist (1918 –2004)
|
Patrick McGilligan
|
Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane
|
Orson Welles, American actor, director, writer, and producer (1915–1985)
|
2016
|
Volker Ullrich with Jefferson Chase (trans.)
|
Hitler: Ascent, 1889–1939
|
Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany (1889–1945)
|
Winner
|
[32]
|
Claire Harman
|
Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart
|
Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet (1816–1855)
|
Finalist
|
[32]
|
Frances Wilson
|
Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey
|
Thomas De Quincey, English essayist, (1785–1859)
|
James McBride
|
Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for the Real James Brown
|
James Brown, American musician (1933–2006)
|
Ross King
|
Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies
|
Claude Monet, French painter (1840–1926)
|
2017
|
Laura Walls
|
Henry David Thoreau: A Life
|
Henry David Thoreau, 19th-century American essayist, poet, and philosopher
|
Winner
|
[33][34]
|
Jonathan Eig
|
Ali: A Life
|
Muhammad Ali, American boxer, philanthropist and activist (1942–2016)
|
Finalist
|
[33]
|
Adam Federman
|
Fasting and Feasting: The Life of Visionary Food Writer Patience Gray
|
Patience Gray, English cookery and travel writer of the mid-20th century (1917– 2005)
|
Ron Chernow
|
Grant
|
Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877 (1822 –1885)
|
John A. Farrell
|
Richard Nixon: The Life
|
Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States from 1969 to 1974 (1913–1994)
|
2018
|
David W. Blight
|
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
|
Frederick Douglass, African-American social reformer, writer, and abolitionist (c. 1818–1895)
|
Winner
|
[35]
|
Seymour M. Hersh
|
Reporter: A Memoir
|
Seymour M. Hersh, American journalist (1937–)
|
Finalist
|
[36]
|
Victoria Johnson
|
American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic
|
David Hosack, American physician, botanist, and educator (1769–1835)
|
Bob Spitz
|
Reagan: An American Journey
|
Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989 (1911–2004)
|
Tara Westover
|
Educated
|
Tara Westover, American historian and author (1986–)
|
2019
|
George Packer
|
Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century
|
Richard Holbrooke, American diplomat and author (1941–2010)
|
Winner
|
[37][38][39]
|
Leo Damrosch
|
The Club
|
Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell
|
Finalist
|
[40][41]
|
Victoria Riskin
|
Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir
|
Fay Wray, American actress (1907–2004), and Robert Riskin, American screenwriter and playwright (1897–1955)
|
Yuval Taylor
|
Zora and Langston
|
Zora Neale Hurston, American folklorist, novelist, and short story writer (1891–1960), and Langston Hughes, American writer and social activist (1901–1967)
|
Evan Thomas
|
First: Sandra Day O'Connor
|
Sandra Day O'Connor, United States Supreme Court justice (1930–)
|
2020
|
William Souder
|
Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck
|
John Steinbeck, American writer (1902–1968)
|
Winner
|
[42][43]
|
Les Payne and Tamara Payne
|
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
|
Malcolm X, African-American human rights activist (1925–1965)
|
Finalist
|
[44][42]
|
Heather Clark
|
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
|
Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist and short story writer (1932–1963)
|
Blake Gopnik
|
Warhol
|
Andy Warhol, American artist, film director, and producer (1928–1987)
|
David Michaelis
|
Eleanor
|
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (1884–1962)
|
2021
|
Paul Auster
|
Burning Boy: The Life and Work of Stephen Crane
|
Stephen Crane, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist (1871–1900)
|
Winner
|
[45]
|
Nick Davis
|
Competing With Idiots: Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, A Dual Portrait
|
Herman Mankiewicz, American screenwriter (1897–1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American film director (1909–1993)
|
Finalist
|
[45]
|
Rebecca Donner
|
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler
|
Mildred Harnack, American-German literary historian (1902–1943)
|
Mark Harris
|
Mike Nichols: A Life
|
Mike Nichols, American television director, writer, producer and comedian (1931–2014)
|
John Tresch
|
The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science
|
Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and literary critic (1809–1849)
|
2022
|
Beverly Gage
|
G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
|
J. Edgar Hoover, American law-enforcement administrator (1895–1972)
|
Winner
|
[46]
|
Tomiko Brown-Nagin
|
Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality
|
Constance Baker Motley, American judge and politician (1921–2005)
|
Finalist
|
[46]
|
Jennifer Homans
|
Mr. B: George Balanchine's 20th Century
|
George Balanchine, Georgian-American ballet choreographer (1904–1983)
|
David Maraniss
|
Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe
|
Jim Thorpe, American athlete (1887–1953)
|
Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
|
His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
|
George Floyd, African-American man murdered by police (1973–2020)
|
2023
|
Gregg Hecimovich
|
The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman’s Narrative
|
Hannah Crafts, American writer
|
Winner
|
[47][48]
|
Leah Redmond Chang
|
Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power
|
|
Finalist
|
[47]
|
Jonny Steinberg
|
Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage
|
|
Elizabeth R. Varon
|
Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South
|
James Longstreet, American general (1821–1904)
|
David Waldstreicher
|
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence
|
Phillis Wheatley, African-American writer (c. 1753–1784)
|