Murder in Amsterdam
Ian Buruma
2007 The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction
The ninth edition of the prize included the story of murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, an epic family story of life under Saddam’s dictatorship, the story of a woman living through turbulent times in Iran, an impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types, a secret history of mind control, a true story of love, war and madness in Seventeenth Century England, and the remarkable life of spy, archaeologist, linguist and mountaineer, Gertrude Bell.
Longlist announced
12 April 2007
Winner & prize ceremony
18 June 2007
What the judges said“Chandrasekaran stands back, detached and collected, from his subject but his reader is left gobsmacked, right in the middle of it.”
The shortlist
A prestigious shortlist of books are selected each year for the prize.
What the judges said“These are six challenging and extremely well written books which reflect the ideas and spirit of the society we live in."
The longlist
The Baillie Gifford Prize rewards excellence in non-fiction writing
The Last Mughal
William Dalrymple
The God Delusion
Richard Dawkins
Iran Awakening
Shirin Ebadi
Irish Freedom
Richard English
City of Laughter
Vic Gatrell
Edith Wharton
Hermione Lee
The Man Who Went Into the West
Byron Rogers
Stuff
Martin Rowson
Fatal Purity
Ruth Scurr
Occupational Hazards
Rory Stewart
Brainwash
Dominic Streatfeild
Nabeel’s Song
Jo Tatchell
Clever Girl
Brian Thompson
Thomas Hardy
Claire Tomalin
Nature’s Engraver
Jenny Uglow
What the judges said“The calibre of books was really astonishing. It is particularly interesting that current affairs and what is happening, in particular, in Iran and Iraq are at the fore-front of non-fiction."
Meet the judges for 2007
The longlist, shortlist and winner is chosen by a panel of independent judges, which changes every year
Helena Kennedy QC
Labour member of the House of Lords
Dr Jim Al-Khalili
Recognised in 2014 as RISE leader by UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Diana Athill
Former Literary Editor at Andrew Deutsch Ltd.
Dr Tristram Hunt
Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Mark Lawson
Former presenter of BBC 4 Front Row