Joseph Pulitzer was the embodiment of 19th century American journalism. An intense Hungarian-American, Pulitzer was a skillful and cunning newspaper publisher with --- shock of all shocks --- actual ethics. Of course, while he lead crusades against a dishonest government in print, he wasn't one to shrink from sensationalism if it would sell a few more papers. He and William Randolph Hearst waged a particularly ugly print battle over the Spanish American War. Pulitzer's two main papers, New York World and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, made journalism what it is today.

Aside from his publishing work, Pulitzer was the first to implement university level journalism training. He worked extensively with the journalism school at Columbia University and, in 1904, made a provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prize as an incentive to excellence in American writing. Pulitzer specified four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one for education, and four traveling scholarships.

The categories may have changed since Pulitzer's original vision, but the mission of the prize board remains the same: to reward and publicize great American writing, both journalism and prose. Past winners have included THE GOOD EARTH by Pearl S. Buck, AMERICAN PASTORAL by Philip Roth and ANGELA'S ASHES by Frank McCourt. Without further ado, this year's Pulitzer Prize winners are: