Leviathan wins Samuel Johnson prize - The Book Depository blog

Oh, I've got one right at last! On Friday, I suggested that you read Philip Hoare's wonderful Leviathan. Seems I'm not the only one who thinks it's a fab book -- yesterday it won the prestigious Samuel Johnson prize!

This from the Times website:

An author who has been obsessed by whales since childhood was rewarded for his fascination last night when his book about them won the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize.

Philip Hoare, who has dedicated the past eight years to watching and writing about whales, won the £20,000 non-fiction prize for his book Leviathan, an exploration of society's relationship with whales.

He was previously known for his biographies of aesthetes such as Noel Coward and Stephen Tennant but began writing about whales after he was convinced by his friend John Waters, the American film director best known for Hairspray.