Sunil Amrith, a 46-year-old Indian-origin historian and Professor of History at Yale University, has been awarded the 2025 British Academy Book Prize, a £25,000 accolade celebrating outstanding non-fiction. His book, The Burning Earth: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years, was recognised for its profound exploration of the climate crisis, announced at a ceremony at the British Academy in London on Wednesday evening.
Global perspective on humanity’s impact
Amrith’s work, described as a “magisterial account” by the judging panel, traces the interplay between human history and environmental transformation across centuries and continents. The British Academy praised the book as a “ground-breaking work of global environmental history” that draws on decades of meticulous research to highlight how colonisation, industrialisation, and human settlement patterns have fueled the modern climate crisis.
Reflections on hope and legacy
In his acceptance speech via live video link from the US, Amrith addressed the tone of his work, stating, “I've sometimes been asked whether 'The Burning Earth' is a bleak book. 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. But in the end, what I'd like to read from the book is a sense that many parts brought us to this point of time. So there were also many paths not taken, ideas that have been forgotten, movements that may have failed but have left a lasting legacy, technologies that were humbler and more sustainable. And perhaps we can find, in returning to those paths not taken, seeds of inspiration for a more hopeful and less violent way of living together on this planet, which we share with each other and with so much other life that we depend on.”
The British Academy Book Prize, established in 2013, honours exceptional non-fiction in the humanities and social sciences.
Amrith’s work stood out among a competitive shortlist, including The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple, The Baton and The Cross: Russia's Church from Pagans to Putin by Lucy Ash, Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance by Bronwen Everill, Sick of It: The Global Fight for Women's Health by Sophie Harman, and Sound Tracks: A Musical Detective Story by Graeme Lawson. Each shortlisted author received £1,000.
