Pulitzer Prize Winners Present and Past

Dreams of limitless bookshelves.

Pulitzer Prize lists are a good source for locating good books.  The lists are not infallible.  There are some real puzzles on the lists.  Some of the Pulitzer Prize winning books and authors quickly fall into total obscurity.  Some winners, such as Harper Lee and her sole book To Kill A Mockingbird, prove to have lasting value and recognition.  I don't know what political schemes might be behind choosing one book and ignoring another.  I am certain that many good authors never make the cut.

Still, the Pulitzer lists are a source with some merit. 



The symbol for the Pulitzer Prize


In the category of biographies, I have finished reading George F. Kennan: An American Life by John Lewis Gaddis. (Thankfully, finally got to the end!) Sometime after I received a review copy of the book, I learned that it won the Pulitzer.   I can say this for the Pulitzer committee:  They do not base their choices on popularity of the books or the subjects.  I will grant that this biography is a thoroughly scholarly work with a worthy subject.  George Kennan was a powerful influence on American foreign policy and was the architect of much of our Cold War strategy. I suspect that relatively few people will start the book, and based on my reading labors in it, even fewer will finish the book.  That is not meant as a harsh criticism, for the subject and its handling by Dr. Gaddis was worth the effort and worthy of the honor of being a Pulitzer winner.

A lengthy study of a key figure in American foreign policy.

I will say more about George F. Kennan in a later post.  For now, I will point out some meritorious past winners in the field of biography.  (I will skip the books where I have little or no familiarity with the title, the subject, or the author.)

The 2011 winner was Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.  I read this book last year and concur with the commitee on its worthiness as a prize winner. The challenge that Chernow faced was in writing a lengthy, but single volume on Washington's life.  Douglas Southall Freeman's biography was seven volumes (and was the winner of the 1958 Pulitzer Prize) and James Flexner Thomas' biography was four volumes.  Thomas' work received a Pulitzer citation and a National Book Award in the early 1970s.  I read the set as my Bicentennial reading in 1976 and that set was my first acquisition from the History Book Club.  Back to Chernow:  Washington's life is full.  Even if he had never been the first President, he would have merited lots of attention.  Many biographies have explored the Washington story, and there are myths to be explained, faults to be uncovered, and a surprising number of qualities that time and research only improves. Chernow, although one can quibble about details, achieved a good balance.

The 2009 winner was American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham.  I read this book in 2010.  As can be seen in the title, Meacham focused on just one part of Jackson's incredible career. This was a good and readable study.  Jackson is a character that I love at points in his life and actions and deplore at other points.  There may have never been a more complicated figure living in the White House.  (The current occupant is a simple case.) 

The 2003 winner was Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro.  As it happens, I am slowly getting into the reading of this book. (I have read about 130 out of over a thousand pages.)  I read the first two volumes of the Caro biography of Johnson years ago.  The fourth volume came out recently and I felt like I needed to read volume 3 before I could purchase the newest installment.  (There will have to be at least one more book in this series since the latest volume only takes the reader up to the point where Johnson became President. The Great Society and Vietnam War will take Caro at least another thousand plus pages to chronicle.)  Caro is a superb writer.  You not only learn about LBJ (and he was truly disgusting), but you learn about the United States in the 20th century, Texas and Southern politics, and the halls of power in Washington.

David MacCullough--a great writer and historian.

The 2002 winner was John Adams by David MacCullough.  I started this book with great doubts.  I didn't care much for Adams and was not fond of tackling several hundred pages about him.  But MacCullough won me over.  MacCullough may be our best living historian.  This book is an outstanding look at a man of honor and principle (although, being human, he was flawed) and of the perilous times in which Adams lived.

The 1993 winner was Truman by David MacCullough.  I have only read portions of this book, but I like the author, the subject, and the writing.

The 1981 winner was Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie.  I have read a biography of Czar Peter, but have never tackled this book. (Yes, I own a copy.)  Because of Massie's great book on Russian history, Nicholas and Alexandra, I would buy and plan on reading anything he wrote.

The 1980 winner was The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris.  In time, I read all 3 of Morris' volumes on Roosevelt and think highly of this series.  (Morris' biography of Ronald Reagan was supremely botched.)

The 1970 winner was Huey Long by T. Harry Williams.  When I first enrolled in Texarkana College, I went to the library and checked this book out.  While taking 2 summer classes (in 1974), I read this book for fun and still treasure that experience.  This was probably the first time I had read a Pulitzer Prize winning biography.

Looking back over the lists of Puliter Prize winning books and authors, I note several works I own.  The writings of historians such as Douglas Southall Freeman, Allen Nevins, and Samuel Eliot Morrison speaks well of the Pulitzer legacy.  I would consider any Pulitzer winning biography at least worthy of consideration.

Maybe I can comment later on Pulitzer winners in other categories.