Other People's Countries shortlisted for Duff Cooper Prize

As a regular reader of this blog you might realise we are huge fans of Patrick McGuinness's book Other People's Countries. We have mentioned it a few times. It is our book of the year, without a doubt. So it's very good to see a few discerning people out there agreeing with us and to learn that the book has been shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize. The shortlist is excellent -

Duff Cooper Prize Shortlist 2014

The Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize celebrates the best in non-fiction writing. The first award was made in 1956, and it has been given annually ever since. The winner will be announced on 19 February.

George Prochnik: The Impossible Exile: Stefan Zweig at the End of the World
Helen Macdonald: H is for Hawk
Henry Marsh: Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery
Jenny Uglow: In These Times: Living in Britain through Napoleon's Wars
Marion Coutts: The Iceberg: A Memoir
Patrick McGuinness: Other People's Countries: A Journey into Memory

- for us, for the quality of the writing and the quirkiness of the concept and its humanity and humour, Other People's Countries is something very remarkable. To hear Patrick talking about the book see here.