Joseph Ellis, a professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, won the nonfiction prize for "American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson" .

The first teaching resource is based on the winners of past years' nonfiction prize:

Starting in 2006 additional categories of a nonfiction prize and a popular award, voted on by the public, were added.

Ms. Blume was preceded by Abby Boyle, the daughter of the author who later won the nonfiction prize.

The nonfiction prize went to "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide" by Samantha Power (New Republic/Basic Books).

That book, published by Henry Holt & Company, won the general nonfiction prize last year.

Steve Coll won the nonfiction prize for his book "Ghost Wars," tracing events leading to the 9/11 attacks.

The five books nominated for the nonfiction prize are on such public policy issues as the American civil rights movement and the Middle East conflict.

Mr. Schama received the nonfiction prize for "Rough Crossing" (Ecco).

Svetlana Alexievich took the nonfiction prize for "Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster" (Dalkey Archive Press).