I’m off to the top-secret conclave at which I and my four fellow judges will choose the winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction. The five finalists, in case you’ve forgotten or didn’t know, are Anne Applebaum’s Gulag: A History, George Howe Colt’s The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home, John D’Emilio’s Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin, Carlos Eire’s Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, and Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America.
Then, after a change of costume (off with the false mustache, on with the black tie), I’ll be heading for tonight’s NBA dinner, where all the winners will be announced.
More later, probably tomorrow.