The Pulitzer Winners for this year have been finalized. Want to know the writers who are making waves? Which books are changing, reflecting, and scrutinizing the human experience? Here are a few winners! (Note: Summaries are from www.Pulitzer.org.)

Fiction

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Grove Press)

A layered immigrant tale told in the wry, confessional voice of a “man of two minds”—and two countries, Vietnam and the United States.

History

Custer’s Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America by T.J. Stiles (Alfred A. Knopf)

A rich and surprising retelling of the journey of the iconic American soldier whose death turns out not to have been the main point of his life. (Moved by the Board from the Biography category.)

Biography or Autobiography

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (Penguin Press)

A finely crafted memoir of a youthful obsession that has propelled the author into a distinguished writing career.

Poetry

Ozone Journal by Peter Balakian (University of Chicago Press)

Poems that bear witness to the old losses and tragedies undergirding a global age of danger and uncertainty.

General Nonfiction

Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick (Doubleday)

A thoroughly researched book of remarkable clarity showing how the flawed rationale for the Iraq War led to the explosive growth of the Islamic State.

Want to read more? Check out this list of Pulitzer Winners!

QUESTION: Do you make a point of reading Pulitzer prizewinning books? Which ones have you read?