The Pulitzers included two works that we have posted about this year. The history choice is an old favorite; Lexington’s first mention of David Hackett Fischer appears to be in 2003 and he appears in twelve more of Lexington’s posts. (Isn’t the new search engine great?) This year, Washington’s Crossing won; Fischer told the New York Times,“My Washington was a figure who took me very much by surprise,” he said. “What he did was bring together the values of the American Revolution with the conducting of the war.” Lexington’s summing up essay this January of books read noted it was a “Superb book about Washington and his army, the crossing of the Delaware and the Battle of Trenton.” He then notes that Fischer’s Liberty and Freedom is on his “to do” list.
The Poetry prize went to Ted Kooser, for Delights and Shadows. The New York Times noted: “Clarity is the hallmark of Mr. Kooser’s style, with deceptively modest metaphors grounded in the Nebraska landscape.” I put a note up when Kooser was named Poet Laureate last year.
It is great to see David Hackett Fischer get this.