The Cornelius Ryan Award is given for "best nonfiction book on international affairs" by the Overseas Press Club of America

Overseas Press Club

The Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...

 (OPC). To be eligible for this literary award

Literary award

A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...

 a book must be published "in the US or by a US based company or distributed for an American audience" during the year prior to that in which the award is given. The winner is chosen in a competition juried by peers from the journalism industry.

Recipients of the award receive a certificate and $1000. The Cornelius Ryan Award is one of 25 different awards currently given by the OPC for excellence in journalism at their annual award dinner, usually held at the end of April. The award is named for the journalist and author Cornelius Ryan

, who himself, twice received this, his own namesake award (1959 for The Longest Day and 1974 for A Bridge Too Far).

In 2009 the judges were Chris Power (Bloomberg BusinessWeek), Robert Dowling (Caixin Media Group

), and Robert Teitelman (The Deal

The Deal (Magazine)

The Deal LLC is a media company that offers The Deal Pipeline, a transaction information service, and publishes finance and business magazine The Deal...

).

Recipients of the Cornelius Ryan Award

Year	Author	Title
1957	David Schoenbrun David Schoenbrun David Schoenbrun , born in New York City, was an American broadcast journalist.He began his career teaching French and in WW2 served as a war correspondent from North Africa through to the liberation of France, for which he was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour.After the...	As France Goes
1958	John Gunther John Gunther John Gunther was an American journalist and author whose success came primarily in the 1940s and 1950s with a series of popular sociopolitical works known as the "Inside" books...	Inside Russia Today
1959	Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan, was an Irish journalist and author mainly known for his writings on popular military history, especially his World War II books: The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 D-Day , The Last Battle , and A Bridge Too Far .-Early life:Ryan was born in Dublin and educated at Synge Street CBS,...	The Longest Day The Longest Day (book) The Longest Day is a book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1959, telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy. It includes details of Operation Deadstick, the coup de main operation by gliderborne troops to capture both Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge before the...
1960	William L. Shirer William L. Shirer William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany read and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years...	The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a 1960 non-fiction book by William L. Shirer chronicling the general history of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945...
1961	John Toland John Toland John Toland was a rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions of the philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment...	But Not in Shame: The Six Months After Pearl Harbor
1962	Seymour Freidin	The Forgotten People: An Eye Witness Account of the People in the Iron Curtain Countries of Europe from 1945-1961
1963	Dan Kurzman Dan Kurzman Dan Halperin Kurzman , was an American journalist and writer of military history books.- Life :...	Subversion of the Innocents: Patterns of Communist Penetration in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia
1964	Robert Trumbull	The Scrutable East: A Correspondent's Report on Southeast Asia
1965	Robert Shaplen	The Lost Revolution: The U.S. in Vietnam, 1946-1966
1966	Welles Hangen	The Muted Revolution: East Germany's Challenge to Russia and the West
1967	George F. Kennan George F. Kennan George Frost Kennan was an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War...	Memoirs, 1925-1950
1968	George W. Ball	The Discipline of Power: Essentials of a Modern World Structure
1969	Townsend Hoopes Townsend Hoopes Townsend Walter Hoopes II was an American historian, who reached the height of his career as Under Secretary of the Air Force from 1967 to 1969.-Biography:Hoopes, known as Tim, was born in Duluth, Minnesota...	The Limits of Intervention: An Inside Account of How the Johnson Policy of Escalation in Vietnam was Reversed
1970	John Toland John Toland John Toland was a rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions of the philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment...	The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 The Rising Sun The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936–1945, written by John Toland, was published by Random House in 1970 and won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction...
1971	Anthony Austin	The President's War: The Story of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution and How the Nation was Trapped in Vietnam
1972	David Halberstam David Halberstam David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...	The Best and the Brightest The Best and the Brightest The Best and the Brightest is an account by journalist David Halberstam of the origins of the Vietnam War published by Random House. The focus of the book is on the foreign policy crafted by the academics and intellectuals who were in John F...
1973	C.L. Sulzberger	An Age of Mediocrity: Memoirs and Diaries, 1963-1972
1974	Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan, was an Irish journalist and author mainly known for his writings on popular military history, especially his World War II books: The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 D-Day , The Last Battle , and A Bridge Too Far .-Early life:Ryan was born in Dublin and educated at Synge Street CBS,...	A Bridge Too Far A Bridge Too Far A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, adapted by William Goldman. It was produced by Joseph E. Levine and Richard P...
1975	Phillip Knightley Phillip Knightley Phillip Knightley is a journalist, critic, and non-fiction author, visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and media commentator on the intelligence services and propaganda.-Biography:...	The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth Maker from the Crimea to Vietnam
1976	John Toland John Toland John Toland was a rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions of the philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment...	Adolf Hitler
1977	David McCullough David McCullough David Gaub McCullough is an American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award....	The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 The Path Between the Seas The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870—1914 is a 1977 book by noted historian David McCullough that details the people and places involved in building the Panama Canal...
1978	Tad Szulc Tad Szulc Tadeusz Witold Szulc was a reporter and writer of non-fiction books.-Life:Szulc was born in Warsaw, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc. He attended school in Switzerland. In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil...	The Illusion of Peace: Foreign Policy in the Nixon Years
1979	Peter Wyden	Bay of Pigs: The Untold Story
1980	Dan Kurzman Dan Kurzman Dan Halperin Kurzman , was an American journalist and writer of military history books.- Life :...	Miracle of November: Madrid's Epic Stand, 1936
1981	Pierre Salinger Pierre Salinger Pierre Emil George Salinger was a White House Press Secretary to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson...	America Held Hostage: The Secret Negotiations
1982	Fox Butterfield Fox Butterfield Fox Butterfield is an American journalist who spent much of his 30-year career reporting for The New York Times....	China: Alive in the Bitter Sea
1983	David Shipler	Russia: Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams
1984	Kevin Klose Kevin Klose Kevin Klose is a journalist, author, broadcast executive, and academic administrator, currently serving as the dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park...	Russia and the Russians: Inside the Closed Society
1985	Joseph Lelyveld Joseph Lelyveld Joseph Lelyveld was executive editor of the New York Times from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, and a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books.In all, Lelyveld worked at...	Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White
1986	Tad Szulc Tad Szulc Tadeusz Witold Szulc was a reporter and writer of non-fiction books.-Life:Szulc was born in Warsaw, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc. He attended school in Switzerland. In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil...	Fidel: A Critical Portrait
1987	Raymond Bonner Raymond Bonner Raymond Bonner has been an investigative reporter and foreign correspondent for The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. He has also been a staff writer at The New Yorker and contributed to The New York Review of Books...	Waltzing with a Dictator: The Marcoses and the Making of American Policy
1988	Whitman Bassow	The Moscow Correspondents: Reporting on Russia from the Revolution to Glasnost
1989	Thomas Friedman Thomas Friedman Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...	From Beirut to Jerusalem From Beirut to Jerusalem From Beirut to Jerusalem is a book written by Thomas L. Friedman chronicling his days as a reporter in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War and his journey in 1984 from Beirut to Jerusalem to cover unfolding events. The current updated version, published in 1995, includes a new chapter...
1990	Tad Szulc Tad Szulc Tadeusz Witold Szulc was a reporter and writer of non-fiction books.-Life:Szulc was born in Warsaw, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc. He attended school in Switzerland. In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil...	Then and Now: How the World Has Changed Since World War II
1991	Sam Dillon	Comandos: The CIA and Nicaragua's Contra Rebels
1992	Misha Glenny Misha Glenny Misha Glenny is a British journalist who specializes in southeastern Europe and global organized crime.-Biography:Glenny is the son of the late Russian studies academic Michael Glenny...	The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War
1993	Mary Anne Weaver	Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan
1994	Michael Ignatieff Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...	Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism
1995	Roger Warner	Back Fire: The CIA's Secret War in Laos and It's Link to the War in Vietnam
1996	Peter Maas Peter Maas Peter Maas was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Maas had Dutch and Irish heritage....	Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War
1997	Patrick Smith	Japan: A Reinterpretation
1998	Philip Gourevitch Philip Gourevitch Philip Gourevitch , an American author and journalist, is a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and the former editor of The Paris Review. His most recent book is The Ballad of Abu Ghraib , an account of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison under the American occupation...	We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda is a 1998 non-fiction book about the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda in 1994, written by The New Yorker writer Philip Gourevitch....
1999	Thomas L. Friedman	The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization The Lexus and the Olive Tree The Lexus and the Olive Tree is a 1999 book by Thomas L. Friedman that posits that the world is currently undergoing two struggles: the drive for prosperity and development, symbolized by the Lexus, and the desire to retain identity and traditions, symbolized by the olive tree...
2000	A.J. Langguth A.J. Langguth A.J. Langguth is an American author, journalist and educator. He is Professor Emeritus of the Annenberg School for Communications School of Journalism at the University of Southern California....	Our Vietnam: The War 1954-1975
2001	Mark Bowden Mark Bowden Not to be confused with Mark Bowden, U.N. Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Somalia.Mark Robert Bowden is an American writer and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he is a 1973 graduate of Loyola University Maryland...	Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
2002	John Laurence	The Cat from Hué: A Vietnam War Story
2003	Milt Bearden, James Risen James Risen James Risen is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist for The New York Times who previously worked for the Los Angeles Times. He has written or co-written many articles concerning U.S...	The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
2004	Steve Coll Steve Coll Steve Coll is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and writer. Coll is currently president and CEO of the New America Foundation. Prior to assuming that post on September 17, 2007, Coll was a staff writer for The New Yorker, and served as managing editor of The Washington Post from 1998 to...	Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 Ghost Wars Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, written by Steve Coll, published in 2004 by Penguin Press, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction....
2005	George Packer George Packer George Packer is an American journalist, novelist and playwright.-Biography:Packer's parents, Nancy Packer and Herbert Packer, were both academics at Stanford University; his maternal grandfather was George Huddleston, a congressman from Alabama. His sister, Ann Packer, is also a writer...	The Assassin's Gate: America in Iraq
2006	Rajiv Chandrasekaran Rajiv Chandrasekaran Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an Indian-American journalist. He is currently the National Editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1994...	Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone Imperial Life in the Emerald City Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone is a 2006 book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran that takes a critical look at the civilian leadership of the American reconstruction project in Iraq...
2007	Bob Drogin Bob Drogin Bob Drogin covers intelligence and national security in the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times.-Life:He is a native of Bayonne, N.J., and a graduate of Oberlin College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism...	Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the Con Man Who Caused a War
2008	Dexter Filkins Dexter Filkins Dexter Price Filkins is an American journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for The New York Times. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for his dispatches from Afghanistan, and he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 as part of a team of New York Times...	The Forever War The Forever War The Forever War is a science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story of soldiers fighting an interstellar war between humanity and the enigmatic Tauran species...
2009	David Finkel David Finkel David Louis Finkel is an American journalist. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 as a staff writer at the Washington Post. He is currently assigned to the national staff as an enterprise reporter. He has also worked for the Post's foreign staff division...	The Good Soldiers The Good Soldiers The Good Soldiers is a 2009 book about the 2007 troop surge in Iraq written by David Finkel, chronicling the deployment of 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Kauzlarich....

External links

• Overseas Press Club of America, official website