Ross, French Are Finalists for Nonfiction Prize

An authorized biography of V.S. Naipaul and Alex Ross's history of 20th-century music are two of the six finalists for Britain's Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.

The award, billed as the world's richest for the genre, gives nearly $60,000 to the winner and nearly $2,000 to each runner-up.

Patrick French obtained exclusive access to Mr. Naipaul's private papers for his illuminating look at the writer's life, "The World Is What It Is," while New Yorker music critic Mr. Ross surveys the rich landscape of music from the last century in "The Rest is Noise."

The other finalists were Tim Butcher's "Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart"; Mark Cocker's "Crow Country"; Orlando Figes's "The Whisperers," and Kate Summerscale's "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher."

"This superb list of books captures both the surface and the underbelly of human existence in all its myriad variations," Rosie Boycott, who chaired the judging panel, said. "There is murder, betrayal, brutality, beauty, and tales of the unexpected."

The winner will be announced on July 15 at a ceremony in the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre in London.