Amrith, a Professor of History at Yale University within the U.S., was born in Kenya to South Indian dad and mom, grew up in Singapore and graduated from the University of Cambridge in England.
The 46-year-old’s newest ebook, described by judges as “vital studying” within the context of the local weather disaster, acquired the coveted prize at a ceremony on the British Academy in London on Wednesday night.
“I’ve typically been requested whether or not ‘The Burning Earth’ is a bleak ebook,” mentioned Amrith, by way of dwell video hyperlink from the U.S.
“There’s little question it particulars a substantial amount of hurt and struggling, each human and environmental, and it reveals that the 2 had been nearly all the time interlinked. But in the long run, what I’d wish to learn from the ebook is a way that many elements introduced us thus far of time. So there have been additionally many paths not taken, concepts which have been forgotten, actions that will have failed however have left an enduring legacy, applied sciences that had been humbler and extra sustainable.
“And maybe we will discover, in returning to these paths not taken, seeds of inspiration for a extra hopeful and fewer violent way of life collectively on this planet, which we share with one another and with a lot different life that we rely on,” he mentioned.
The announcement was made by the chair of the judges, UK-based historian Professor Rebecca Earle, who described the profitable work as a magisterial account of the interconnections between human historical past and environmental transformation.
“It is vivid intimately and superbly written — vital studying for anybody looking for to grasp the origins of right this moment’s local weather disaster,” mentioned Earle.
“Amrith is a exceptional scholar whose international perspective reveals the influence of the atmosphere on human historical past, in addition to our influence on the atmosphere. In truth, as he reveals, it’s probably not doable to separate these two.
“It is rarely a straightforward job to decide on one winner from an distinctive shortlist of six, however our panel agreed that ‘The Burning Earth’ exemplified the spirit of the prize: to deepen understanding of our world,” she mentioned.
The British Academy, the UK’s nationwide academy for the humanities and social sciences, notes that Amrith’s “ground-breaking work of world environmental historical past” attracts on many years of meticulous and eye-opening analysis to disclose how colonisation, industrialisation and the shifting patterns of human settlement haven’t solely formed the fashionable world but additionally fuelled the local weather disaster we at the moment are confronted with.
Spanning continents and centuries – from the conquest of the Americas to British gold mining in South Africa, from the Black Death to the Second World War, Amrith takes the reader on an epic journey, providing a brand new perspective on humanity’s influence on the planet.
“This recent have a look at the interaction of human historical past with the form of the earth combines rigorous analysis with page-turning prose. It is exactly the mix of evidence-informed perception, well-honed concepts, and nice writing that we’re proud to rejoice via our annual worldwide ebook prize,” mentioned Professor Susan J Smith, President of the British Academy.
The different 5 shortlisted works, which every obtain 1,000 kilos, included ‘The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World’ by William Dalrymple; ‘The Baton and The Cross: Russia’s Church from Pagans to Putin’ by Lucy Ash; ‘Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance’ by Bronwen Everill; ‘Sick of It: The Global Fight for Women’s Health’ by Sophie Harman; and ‘Sound Tracks: A Musical Detective Story’ by Graeme Lawson.
The British Academy Book Prize was established in 2013 to reward writing grounded in distinctive analysis within the fields of the humanities and social sciences.
To be eligible for the prize, books should be works of non-fiction printed within the UK, with authors of any nationality, based mostly wherever on the planet and dealing in any language, offered that the nominated work is offered within the English language.
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