The Council on Foreign Relations announced the shortlist for the 2008 Arthur Ross Book Award. Among the 5 prestigious international affairs books chosen, two spots were given to Yale Press authors.

Joshua Kurlantzick was chosen for Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power is Transforming the World. The Council consider his book an “insightful assessment of Beijing’s new diplomacy that has altered the political landscape in Southeast Asia and far beyond, changing the dynamics of China’s relationships with other countries.”

The Council chose Trita Parsi for Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States, calling his book “a unique and important dissection of the complicated triangular relations that continue to shape the future of the Middle East.”

The Arthur Ross Book Award is a significant award for a book on international affairs. It was endowed by Arthur Ross in 2001 to honor non-fiction works, in English or translation, that merit special attention for bringing forth new information that changes our understanding of events or problems, developing analytical approaches that allow new and different insights into critical issues, or providing new ideas that help resolve foreign policy problems.