Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1982) Winner
Jonathan Schell
ジョナサン・エドワード・シェル
Jonathan Edward Schell
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1943-08-21 （New York City）
- Died
- 2014-03-25 （Brooklyn, New York） age 70
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- New York City → Tokyo (studied at International Christian University) → Saigon (South Vietnam) → Brooklyn (New York)
Career
- Occupations
- journalist, writer, lecturer
- Active Years
- 1967-2014
- Affiliations
- The New Yorker (staff writer), The Nation Institute / The Nation (senior fellow, peace and disarmament correspondent), Harvard Institute of Politics (fellow), Yale University (visiting lecturer / fellow)
- Influenced
- nuclear disarmament movement (new abolitionists), public intellectual and peace movement discourse
- Nominations
- Pulitzer Prize (nominated), National Book Award (nominated), National Book Critics Circle Award (nominated)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton School | — | — | — | — | United States |
| The Putney School | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Harvard University | — | Far Eastern history | Bachelor's degree | 1961–1965 | United States |
| International Christian University | — | Japanese language study | — | 1965–1966 | Japan |
Dalton School
Country:
United States
Attended a private school in New York City
The Putney School
Country:
United States
Graduated from a boarding high school in Vermont
Harvard University
Far Eastern history
Degree:
Bachelor's degree
Period:
1961–1965
Year of Graduation:
1965
Country:
United States
Graduated in 1965 with a degree in Far Eastern history
International Christian University
Japanese language study
Period:
1965–1966
Year of Graduation:
1966
Country:
Japan
Studied Japanese for one year
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | George Polk Award (Commentary) | — | コメント（Commentary） | George Polk Awards (Long Island University) | 受賞 |
| 1982 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize | The Fate of the Earth | — | Los Angeles Times | 受賞 |
George Polk Award (Commentary)
1979
Category:
コメント（Commentary）
Organization:
George Polk Awards (Long Island University)
Result:
受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1982
Work:
The Fate of the Earth
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Village of Ben Suc
1967 reportage / non-fictionA reportage account of a Vietnamese village destroyed during the Vietnam War, documenting the impact of war on civilians.
Vietnam Warcivilian sufferingcritique of war
The Military Half: An Account of Destruction in Quang Ngai and Quang Tin
1968 non-fiction / war reportingA detailed account of destruction in central Vietnam caused by U.S. bombing and ground operations.
destruction of warU.S. military operations
The Fate of the Earth
1982 essay / science and ethicsAn argument about the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons and a forceful call for abolition.
nuclear weaponshuman extinctionmoral argumentdisarmament
The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger
2007 essay / security studiesAnalyzes the changing shape of nuclear danger after the Cold War and re-examines the case for abolition.
nuclear strategypost-Cold War security
Bibliography
- The Village of Ben Suc. Alfred A. Knopf. 1967.
- The Military Half: An Account of Destruction in Quang Ngai and Quang Tin. Alfred A. Knopf. 1968.
- The Time of Illusion. Alfred A. Knopf. 1976.
- The Fate of the Earth. Alfred A. Knopf. 1982.
- The Abolition. Alfred A. Knopf. 1984.
- The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger. Metropolitan Books. 2007.
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- journalistic, fact-based reportageessayistic with moral-argumentative tonecalm analytical voice combined with moral urgency
- Recurring Motifs
- the annihilatory nature of nuclear weaponsthe human cost of warpolitical responsibility and conscience
Health
-
cancer (related to an underlying blood condition)最終数年（〜2014年）Ultimately led to his death and constrained his final years of activity
Legacy
Schell is regarded as a public intellectual who critically examined the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons. The Fate of the Earth influenced the abolition movement and remains referenced in academic and civic debates.
Academic Societies
- Type Media Center (Jonathan Schell Memorial Lecture / Fate of the Earth series)
In Popular Culture
- Frequently cited in political and peace-movement discussions and lectures
Quotes
-
Never has a nation unleashed so much violence with so little risk to itself. It is the government's way of waging war without the support of its own people, and involves us all in the dishonor of killing in a cause we are no longer willing to die for.
Source: The New Yorker (Notes and Comment), 1972 (1972)
Trivia
- William Shawn once designated Schell as his successor at The New Yorker, but the plan was withdrawn after staff opposition.
- The Fate of the Earth significantly influenced public opinion in the abolition movement and was nominated for multiple major awards.
- In his later years he researched an unwritten book titled The Human Shadow on climate change.