Post by Beth on Apr 19, 2016 5:47:04 GMT
T. J. Stiles wins Pulitzer for Custer's Trials
T.J. Stiles of Berkeley has won the Pulitzer Prize in history for “Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America." It’s Stiles’ second Pulitzer; he won the award in 2010 for his biography “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.” That book, also published by Alfred A. Knopf, won the National Book Award in 2009.
In their citation, Pulitzer jurors described “Custer’s Trials” as “a rich and surprising new telling of the journey of the iconic American soldier whose death turns out not to have been the main point of his life.”
The jurors added, “In this magisterial biography, T.J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer’s legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer’s historical caricature, revealing a volatile, contradictory, intense person — capable yet insecure, intelligent yet bigoted, passionate yet self-destructive, a romantic individualist at odds with the institution of the military (he was court-martialed twice in six years).”
When reached by phone, Stiles said that the $10,000 prize was “completely and utterly unexpected ... a gift from heaven.”
After a day of responding to emails and phone calls, he said he celebrated by picking up his daughter at preschool and enjoying takeout sushi on his deck with his family; he and his wife also have a son.
“The Pulitzer helps sustain my productivity,” Stiles said, noting that writing “serious nonfiction is a difficult endeavor.” He praised Knopf for providing support. “But,” he added with a laugh, “they’re not a bank.”
Stiles, who grew up near the small town of Foley, Minn., has forged his career as a historian outside of academia. He wrote advertising copy for a Oxford University Press and Ballantine Books in New York for several years and held a number of odd jobs, including pouring concrete for hog pens and working as a janitor, telemarketer, gas station attendant and liquor store cashier.
T.J. Stiles of Berkeley has won the Pulitzer Prize in history for “Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America." It’s Stiles’ second Pulitzer; he won the award in 2010 for his biography “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.” That book, also published by Alfred A. Knopf, won the National Book Award in 2009.
In their citation, Pulitzer jurors described “Custer’s Trials” as “a rich and surprising new telling of the journey of the iconic American soldier whose death turns out not to have been the main point of his life.”
The jurors added, “In this magisterial biography, T.J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer’s legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer’s historical caricature, revealing a volatile, contradictory, intense person — capable yet insecure, intelligent yet bigoted, passionate yet self-destructive, a romantic individualist at odds with the institution of the military (he was court-martialed twice in six years).”
When reached by phone, Stiles said that the $10,000 prize was “completely and utterly unexpected ... a gift from heaven.”
After a day of responding to emails and phone calls, he said he celebrated by picking up his daughter at preschool and enjoying takeout sushi on his deck with his family; he and his wife also have a son.
“The Pulitzer helps sustain my productivity,” Stiles said, noting that writing “serious nonfiction is a difficult endeavor.” He praised Knopf for providing support. “But,” he added with a laugh, “they’re not a bank.”
Stiles, who grew up near the small town of Foley, Minn., has forged his career as a historian outside of academia. He wrote advertising copy for a Oxford University Press and Ballantine Books in New York for several years and held a number of odd jobs, including pouring concrete for hog pens and working as a janitor, telemarketer, gas station attendant and liquor store cashier.
