Orwell Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1994) Winner
Neal Ascherson
ニール・アシュアーソン
Neal Ascherson
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1932-10-05 （Edinburgh, Scotland）
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Edinburgh (birthplace) → London (residence)
Career
- Occupations
- journalist, writer, academic (visiting)
- Active Years
- 1950-
- Affiliations
- UCL Institute of Archaeology (visiting professor), Public Archaeology (editor)
- Memberships
- Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Honorary Fellow)
- Influenced By
- Eric Hobsbawm
- Influenced
- Later journalists and historians of Eastern Europe
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's College, Cambridge | History | Department of History | — | — | United Kingdom |
King's College, Cambridge
History
/ Department of History
Country:
United Kingdom
Supervised by Eric Hobsbawm. Chose a career in journalism rather than academia.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Honorary degree (Doctor of the University) | — | — | Open University | 授与 |
| 2011 | Honorary Fellow | — | — | Society of Antiquaries of Scotland | 選出 |
Honorary degree (Doctor of the University)
1991
Organization:
Open University
Result:
授与
Honorary Fellow
2011
Organization:
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Result:
選出
Awards & Nominations
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 17 (1996) Winner
Works
Major Works
Black Sea
1995 history / travelA nonfiction exploration of the history and cultures around the Black Sea, combining on-the-ground reportage with historical analysis of the region's complex peoples and politics.
Eastern Europenational memoryempire and borders
The Polish August: The Self-limiting Revolution
1981 political history / contemporary historyAn analysis of the social upheavals around 1980 in Poland and the emergence of the Solidarity movement; an important account of contemporary Polish history.
Polandlabor movementssocial change
Death of the Fronsac: A Novel
2017 novelA later-career novel that weaves history and personal narrative into a fictional work.
historyidentitymemory
Bibliography
- The King Incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo (1963)
- The Polish August: The Self-limiting Revolution (1981)
- The Book of Lech Wałęsa (1982)
- Games With Shadows (1988)
- Black Sea (1995)
- Stone Voices: The Search for Scotland (2002)
- Death of the Fronsac: A Novel (2017)
Adaptations
- Contributed scripts to documentary series (The World at War, Cold War, etc.)
- Television appearances (After Dark, etc.)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- nonfictional historical narrative interwoven with on-the-ground reportagescholarly insights presented in accessible prose for general readers
- Recurring Motifs
- Eastern and Central Europenational memory and identitylegacies of empire and borders
Legacy
Neal Ascherson is regarded as a bridge between academic study and journalism on Central and Eastern Europe. Through works like Black Sea, he contributed to wider understanding of the region and has had influence in both journalism and scholarship.
Academic Societies
- Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (Honorary Fellow)
In Popular Culture
- Appearance on the TV discussion programme After Dark (1987)
- Script contributions to documentaries (The World at War, Cold War)
Quotes
-
"One of Britain's leading experts on central and eastern Europe."
Source: Radio Prague (profile) (2004)
Trivia
- Served as an officer in the Royal Marines and saw action during the Malayan Emergency in his youth.
- Of mixed ancestry: mother from a Scottish family and father of Jewish descent.
- Awarded a scholarship to Eton College.
- Involved with the breakaway Scottish Labour Party (SLP) in the 1970s.
- Stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election (unsuccessful).
- Supported the 'Yes' campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.