Books on social movements shortlisted for Cundill History Prize

This year’s Cundill History Prize short list comprises mainly books about social movements, which jurors say are of particular importance in today’s political climate.

The eight books in the running for the US$75,000 prize administered by McGill University include “Wages for Housework: The Story of a Movement, an Idea, a Promise” by Emily Callaci, which traces a global campaign that sprung up in the 1970s, and “A Fractured Liberation: Korea Under U.S. Occupation,” which explores how the American military extinguished the Korean independence movement.

Also on the short list is a biography of the most pivotal figure in the Haitian Revolution, “The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe” by Marlene L. Daut and “To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement” by Benjamin Nathans.

Jurors also selected Lyndal Roper’s “Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War,” which looks at the far-reaching implications of the 16th century revolt, and Sophia Rosenfeld’s “The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life” outlines the rise of personal choice in the modern world.

Rounding out the list are “America, América: A New History of the New World,” a five-century narrative of North and South America by Greg Grandin, and “The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West,” about the Reconstruction era and westward expansion.

Three finalists will be announced on Sept. 30 and the winner will be revealed on Oct. 30.

The Cundill jury says the shortlisted books “illuminate untold histories, recover overlooked voices, and invite readers to reconsider how movements for justice and independence have shaped the world we live in today.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.