Lukas prize finalists spotlight Baldwin biography and a searing look at Ukraine’s war

NEW YORK (AP) — A biography of James Baldwin, a deep and personal probe into the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a revelatory history of the American West inspired by a 19th century photograph are among this year’s finalists for prizes established in honor of the late investigative journalist J. Anthony Lukas.

The finalists in three categories were announced Thursday by the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, which oversee the Lukas Prize Project.

Danielle Leavitt’s “By the Second Spring: Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine” is a nominee for the $10,000 Lukas Book Prize, given for works that exemplify “literary grace, commitment to serious research and original reporting.” Others cited are Bench Ansfield’s “Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City,” Rich Benjamin’s “Talk to Me: Lessons from a Family Forged by History,” Mariah Blake’s “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals” and Jeff Hobbs’ “Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America.”

Nicholas Boggs’ “Baldwin: A Love Story,” one of last year’s most acclaimed books, is a finalist for the $10,000 Mark Lynton History Prize. The other nominees are Martha A. Sandweiss’ “The Girl in the Middle,” based on the picture of a Native girl from an 1868 photograph; Sven Beckert’s “Capitalism: A Global History,” William Dalrymple’s “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World” and Siddharth Kara’s “The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery.”

Lukas project officials also announced finalists for the Work-in-Progress Prizes, with two winners each receiving $25,000.

The nominees are Bryce Andrews’ “Seaworthy,” danah boyd’s “Data Are Made, Not Found,” Esmé E. Deprez’s “Inviting Death In,” Sarah Esther Maslin’s “Nothing Stays Buried” and Karim Zidan’s “In the Shadow of the Cage.”

Previous winners of the Lukas prizes, founded in 1998, include Robert Caro, Jill Lepore and Samantha Power.