AP News, April 16th, 2007
The Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction was awarded Monday to Lawrence Wright for his book, "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11," a penetrating analysis of how Islamic fundamentalism has reshaped the modern world.
Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff won the Pulitzer Prize for history for "The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation." The book traces how the civil rights struggle was covered by the press, breaking down prejudices within journalism and as well as in American society.
Cormac McCarthy won for fiction for his sparse, apocalyptic novel, "The Road."
Debby Applegate won for biography for "The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher," the 19th century abolitionist and preacher.
"It took me about 20 years to write this book from the time I stumbled upon Beecher's work and thought I'd write a college seminar paper on him," said Applegate, 39, who studied at Amherst College as an undergraduate.
David Lindsay-Abaire won the drama prize for "Rabbit Hole," about a wealthy, suburban couple trying to come to terms with the death of their young son, Danny, accidentally killed when he runs into the street and is struck by a car. The jury had deadlocked on three entries in the drama category.
Jazz artist Ornette Coleman won the music category for "Sound Grammar," his first release in a decade and only the second Pulitzer won by a jazz composer. Wynton Marsalis won the music prize in 1997 for "Blood on the Fields."
Coleman said his cousin notified him that he had won the honor. "I didn't believe him," Coleman told The Associated Press. "I'm grateful to know that America is really a fantastic country."
Natasha Trethewey won for poetry for "Native Guard."
Special citations were given to science fiction icon Ray Bradbury and famed jazz saxaphonist John Coltrane.
