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Bad bankers and dodgy science in the running for best non-fiction
Sri Carmichael, Consumer Affairs Reporter21.05.09
A book offering lessons from history on how a few bankers can bankrupt the world made it onto the shortlist of Britain's most prestigious non-fiction prize today.
The six-strong shortlist for this year's Samuel Johnson prize covers topics ranging from finance to science and exploration. Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed quashes received wisdom that the economic crash of 1929 was the result of a “perfect storm” of events beyond anyone's control. It blames the Great Depression on a small group of financiers whose decisions had monumental and far-reaching impact.
Scientific scare-mongering is tackled in Bad Science by Ben Goldacre who says our obsession with health provides fertile ground for dodgy myths to be sown. He dismantles some of the less-than-reliable research and misleading use of statistics behind drug trials, court cases and media reports.
A tale of the Amazon's discovery by David Grann, called The Lost City of Z, harks back to days when the rainforest around the world's longest river remained unseen by human eyes and a British explorer's quest to find an El Dorado-like city.
Leviathan by Philip Hoare focuses on man's obsession with the whale, whose nature is still elusive. Richard Holmes imagines the excitement that swept through the scientific community in the 18th century as a stream of discoveries and inventions awed society. The Age of Wonder looks at how some of the enlightenment's great writers and poets responded to the rapid broadening of their knowledge and imaginations.
Lastly, Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar looks at how quantum theory has given us a clearer understanding of the universe and the real story behind the Big Bang.
The winner of the prize, in its 11th year, will be awarded £20,000 at a ceremony on 30 June. Chairman of the judges, Jacob Weisberg, said: “All of us were won over by the kinds of books we ordinarily might not have picked up — and now feel lucky to have read.”
It's not just like choosing between apples and oranges, peaches and pears, writes David Sexton, Literary Editor. This prize requires the judges somehow to compare wholly different species of book. Nonetheless, the Johnson is one of the few literary prizes that seems not just vaguely a good thing but strictly necessary. To write non-fiction well requires no less art than a novel or collection of poetry — and for 10 years now, this prize has helped to focus attention on the best.
