For a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category, Five thousand dollars ($5,000).
Awarded to "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond (W. W. Norton).
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster" by Jon Krakauer (Villard), and "How the Mind Works" by Steven Pinker (W. W. Norton).