Sara Charney, Chair of the Lionel Gelber Prize Board and niece of the late Lionel Gelber, today announced that the winner of the 27th annual Lionel Gelber Prize is Robert F. Worth for his book A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Jury Chair John Stackhouse notes: “The Arab Spring’s ebb and flow was so sudden that its consequence can be mistaken as fleeting. Robert F. Worth’s Rage for Order makes the case otherwise, revealing how the events of 2010 had been years, perhaps decades, in the making, and their aftershocks may be just as lasting. Worth traverses the countries that shook the Middle East to its core, telling the region’s political conflicts through the eyes of individuals who tried to bend the course of history. Through courageous reporting and empathetic writing, Worth makes clear that the popular will behind the Arab Spring has not receded, nor has the power behind its suppression abated.”
Coinciding with the announcement of the 27th winner is the launch of a highly integrated new Prize website, richly detailed and cross-populated with information about Lionel Gelber and the world’s best books on foreign affairs, dating back to the first awarding in 1990.
