Philippe Sands’ history of war crimes wins nonfiction prize
LONDON — Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands won Britain’s leading nonfiction literary award on Tuesday for a book about the fight to prosecute war crimes that blends historical investigation and family memoir.
“East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity” was awarded the 30,000-pound ($37,000) Baillie Gifford Prize at a ceremony in London.
Sands, who has worked on cases at the International Criminal Court, called the book “a double detective story.” It investigates both his family’s flight from Nazi-occupied Europe and the origins of international human rights law in the post-World War II Nuremberg trials of senior Nazis.
Stephanie Flanders, who chaired the judging panel, said Sands had written “a multi-layered history that is impressive ion its own right but also a satisfying, suspenseful read.”