Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I'm Dying
Christopher Hitchens, God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Woody Holton, Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution
Arnold Rampersad, Ralph Ellison: A Biography
Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Holton, the only academic historian among the nominees, is an associate professor of history at the University of Richmond and author of Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia, which won the Organization of American Historians' Merle Curti Award for Social History. Look for Holton to make a big move soon.