The Lionel Gelber Prize is a literary award for English non-fiction books on

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

. Founded in 1989 by Canadian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

Lionel Gelber, the prize awards "the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues." A prize of is awarded to the winner. The award is presented annually by the Lionel Gelber Foundation, in partnership with ''

Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

'' magazine and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Recipients are judged by a jury panel of experts from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, Britain, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The award has been described by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' as "the world's most important award for non-fiction". Past winners have included Lawrence Wright,

Jonathan Spence Jonathan Dermot Spence (11 August 1936 – 25 December 2021) was an English-born American historian, Sinology, sinologist, and writer who specialized in History of China, Chinese history. He was Sterling Professor of History at Yale Universit ...

, David McCullough, Kanan Makiya, Michael Ignatieff,

Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. ...

, Robert Kinloch Massie, Adam Hochschild (two time winner), Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, Walter Russell Mead,

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, Freeland represen ...

, and Steve Coll.

List of award winners

* 1990: '' The Search for Modern China'' by

Jonathan D. Spence Jonathan Dermot Spence (11 August 1936 – 25 December 2021) was an English-born American historian, sinologist, and writer who specialized in Chinese history. He was Sterling Professor of History at Yale University from 1993 to 2008. His mo ...

. * 1991: ''Code of Peace: Ethics and Security in the World of Warlord States'' by Dorothy V. Jones. * 1992: '' Truman'' by David McCullough. * 1993: ''Cruelty and Silence: War, Tyranny, Uprising and the Arab World'' by Kanan Makiya. * 1994: ''Blood and Belonging: Journeys Into the New Nationalism'' by Michael Ignatieff. * 1995: '' Age of Extremes: The Short 20th Century'' by

. * 1996: ''Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev'' by Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Pleshakov * 1997: ''Aftermath: The Remnants of War'' by

Donovan Webster Donovan James Webster (January 13, 1959 – July 4, 2018) was an American journalist, author, film-maker, and humanitarian. A former senior editor for '' Outside'' magazine, his work appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''National Geographic'', '' Smi ...

. * 1998: ''Loosing the Bonds: The United States and South Africa In the Apartheid Years'' by Robert Kinloch Massie. * 1999: '' King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism In Colonial Africa'' by Adam Hochschild. * 2000: '' A Great Wall: Six Presidents and China: An Investigative History'' by Patrick Tyler. * 2001: ''John Maynard Keynes, Fighting for Britain 1937-1946'' by Lord Robert Skidelsky. * 2002: ''Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World'' by Walter Russell Mead. * 2003: ''America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy'' by Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay * 2004: '' Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001'' by Steve Coll. * 2006: '' Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves'' by Adam Hochschild. * 2007: '' The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11'' by Lawrence Wright. * 2008: '' The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It'' by Paul Collier. * 2009: ''A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East'' by Sir Lawrence Freedman. * 2010: ''The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China'' by Jay Taylor. * 2011: ''Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America'' by Shelagh Grant. * 2012: '' Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China'' by Ezra Vogel. * 2013: '' Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else'' by

. * 2014: '' The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide'' by Gary J. Bass. * 2015: ''The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union'' by Serhii Plokhy * 2016: ''Objective Troy: A Terrorist, A President, and the Rise of the Drone'' by

Scott Shane Scott Shane (born May 22, 1954 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American journalist, currently employed by ''The New York Times'', reporting principally about the United States intelligence community. Career and education Shane received a bachelo ...

* 2017: ''A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS'' by

Robert F. Worth Robert Forsyth Worth (born September 29, 1965) is an American journalist and former chief of ''The New York Times'' Beirut bureau. He is the author of ''Rage for Order''. Life Born and raised in Manhattan, Worth has an M.A. and a Ph.D. (in Engli ...

published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

* 2018: '' Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine'' by Anne Applebaum published by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

* 2019: ''Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World'' by Adam Tooze published by

* 2020: ''The Light that Failed: A Reckoning'' by

Ivan Krastev Ivan Krastev ( bg, Иван Кръстев, born 1965 in Lukovit, Bulgaria), is a political scientist, the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, permanent fellow at the IWM (Institute of Human Sciences) in Vienna, and 2013-4 ...

and Stephen Holmes * 2021: ''Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace'' by Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis * 2022: '' The American War in Afghanistan: A History'' by Carter Malkasian

References

{{Reflist

External links

Gelber Prize - Munk School of Global AffairsThe Lionel Gelber Prize on Twitter
Canadian non-fiction literary awards Political book awards Awards established in 1989 1989 establishments in Canada