The Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History
2006 Winner
Congratulations to Bryan Ward Perkins who has been awarded the 2006 Hessell-Tiltman Prize for The Fall of
Bryan Ward Perkins asks why Rome really fell. For many years, the received opinion has been that it was caused by vicious barbarian invasions, but the dominant view today is that it was a largely peaceful transition to Germanic rule, and the start of a positive cultural transformation. In his book, Bryan Ward Perkins examines how and why successive generations have understood this period differently, and why the story in still so significant today.
The judges felt the book was 'Superb for a variety of reasons. Bryan Ward Perkins has re-examined a well-known known piece of history with fresh, thoughtful research and although he has clearly considered an immense breadth of material, he has written The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation economically, beautifully and with great wit.'
The Hessell-Tiltman judges were Professor Linda Colley (chair), Graham Robb and Frances Stonor-Saunders. The other two books to reach the shortlist were Charles Townshend's Easter1916: The Irish Rebellion (Allen Lane Penguin Press) and Simon Schama's Rough Crossings:
2005 Winners
Congratulations to Paul Fussell and Richard Overy who were awarded the 2005 Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History. The prize was presented at the PEN Summer Party by distinguished writer and English PEN Vice President Raleigh Trevelyan. The award went to Paul Fussell for The Boys' Crusade (Weidenfeld and Nicholdon) and to Richard Overy for The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia (Allen Lane/Penguin).
The Boys' Crusade by Paul Fussell presents the Second World War through the eyes of the American troops from their arrival in Britain to their discovery of the concentration camps in 1945. Involved in the fighting of a war for which they were hardly prepared, the American ground troops faced chaos and misery but finally came to see the War as their Crusade. Paul Fussell is now emeritus Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. A Californian, he was severely wounded in 1945 whilst serving as a second lieutenant with the US 103rd Division.
The Boys Crusade is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson (Orion Books) at £9.99
The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia by Richard Overy sets out to answer the question of how dictatorship was possible. In his chilling analysis of the powerful bond that tied dictator and people together, he reveals the vanity of ambitious and unscrupulous men and brilliantly explores the different ways Stalin and Hitler rose to power and abused and dominated their people. Richard Overy is Professor of History at Kings College London.
The Dictators is published by Allen Lane/ Penguin at £25.00
The other shortlisted writers were:
JOACHIM FEST - Inside Hitler's Bunker - The Last Days of the Third Reich - Macmillan
MARK MAZOWER - Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950 - Harper Collins
JONATHAN PHILLIPS - The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople - Jonathan Cape
Inside Hitler's Bunker - The Last Days of the Third Reich by Joachim Fest uses newly available eye witness accounts to describe the last bitter days in Hitler's bunker and offers fresh insight into the nature of Hitler and his entourage, their misplaced sense of historical purpose and their murderous disregard for the fate of the German people. Joachim Fest is the author of several Award winning books on Nazi Germany.
Inside Hitler's Bunker is translated Margot Bettauer Dembo and published by Macmillan at £16.99
Salonica: City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews,1430-1950 by Mark Mazower, Professor of History at Columbia University and Birkbeck College London, uncovers the memory of what lies buried beneath the prosperous streets of Salonica and recounts the story of how three great faiths that shared the city were driven apart.
Salonica is published by Harper Collins at £25.00
The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, Jonathan Phillip's remarkable new assessment of the Fourth Crusade, follows the fortunes and explores the conflicting motives that drove the expedition to commit the most infamous massacre of the Crusading movement. Jonathan Phillips is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at Royal Holloway, University of London
The Fourth Crusade is published by Jonathan Cape at £20.00
The judges for the 2005 prize were: Raleigh Trevelyan (Chair), Caroline Moorehead and Adam Nicolson