Finalist: The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century , by Alan Brinkley (Alfred A. Knopf )
A fresh, fair minded assessment of a complicated man who transformed the news business and showed busy Americans new ways to see the world.
Winners
Prize Winner in Biography in 2011:
Ron Chernow
A sweeping, authoritative portrait of an iconic leader learning to master his private feelings in order to fulfill his public duties.
Biography
Finalists
Nominated as finalists in Biography in 2011:
Michael O'Brien
A graceful account of a remarkable journey by Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of a future president, who traveled with a young son across a Europe still reeling from warfare.
The Jury
The Jury
Arthur Herman
visiting scholar
Elizabeth Frank(chair )*
Joseph E. Harry Professor of Modern Languages and Literature
Geoffrey Ward
biographer
Winners in Biography
T.J. Stiles
A penetrating portrait of a complex, self-made titan who revolutionized transportation, amassed vast wealth and shaped the economic world in ways still felt today.
Jon Meacham
An unflinching portrait of a not always admirable democrat but a pivotal president, written with an agile prose that brings the Jackson saga to life.
2011 Prize Winners
Jennifer Egan
An inventive investigation of growing up and growing old in the digital age, displaying a big-hearted curiosity about cultural change at warp speed.
Ron Chernow
A sweeping, authoritative portrait of an iconic leader learning to master his private feelings in order to fulfill his public duties.
Mike Keefe
For his widely ranging cartoons that employ a loose, expressive style to send strong, witty messages.
Kay Ryan
A body of work spanning 45 years, witty, rebellious and yet tender, a treasure trove of an iconoclastic and joyful mind.