Indian-Origin Historian Sunil Amrith Wins Prestigious British Academy Book Prize

Sunil Amrith, a distinguished Indian-origin historian, has been named the winner of the British Academy Book Prize for his profound work, The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years. The prestigious award, valued at £25,000, recognizes the world’s best non-fiction books that profoundly deepen our understanding of global society and its challenges.

The announcement was made at a ceremony at the British Academy in London, celebrating Amrith’s magisterial account of the intricate and often devastating interconnections between human history and environmental transformation. His book was hailed by the judges as an essential read for understanding the origins and context of today’s accelerating climate crisis.

The Burning Earth: A Global Environmental Perspective

Amrith’s winning work offers a sweeping global history, meticulously charting the last five centuries of humanity’s impact on the planet. The Yale University Professor of History draws on decades of research to illustrate how major historical processes—such as colonisation, industrialisation, and shifting patterns of human settlement—have not only shaped the modern world but have also relentlessly fuelled the current environmental emergency.

The book spans continents and centuries, from the consequences of the conquest of the Americas to British gold mining in South Africa, and from the devastation of the Black Death to the massive resource mobilisation during the two World Wars. In doing so, Amrith compels readers to confront the reality that the pursuit of power and profit has dramatically reshaped our planet, leading to an increasing and often unequal burden of environmental harm.

Judges Praise the “Magisterial Account”

The chair of the judging panel praised The Burning Earth as a “magisterial account” that is “vivid in detail and beautifully written.” The panel emphasized that Amrith’s global perspective is key, showing how the environment impacts human history just as humanity impacts the environment, stressing that it’s impossible to separate the two.

Accepting the award via live video link, Amrith, whose roots are in South India but grew up in Singapore, acknowledged the difficult truths detailed in his book. He noted, “There’s no doubt it details a great deal of harm and suffering, both human and environmental, and it shows that the two were almost always interlinked.”

However, the historian offered a message of potential hope, suggesting readers should take away a sense of the “many paths not taken” throughout history—the forgotten ideas, failed movements, and humbler, more sustainable technologies that could still offer inspiration. He suggested a return to these alternatives might guide us toward a “more hopeful and less violent way of living together on this planet.”

The British Academy Book Prize, established in 2013, is one of the most significant global awards for non-fiction literature grounded in the humanities and social sciences. Amrith’s win from a strong shortlist reaffirms his position as a leading global scholar, whose work on environmental history and its deep connection to migration and inequality is profoundly relevant to our time.