His book, The Emperor of All Maladies - published by Fourth Estate - was the only non-fiction title on the shortlist, and has been described by its author as a "biography" of cancer, "an attempt to enter the mind of this immortal illness, to understand its personality, to demystify its behaviour". The book also enters the minds of cancer patients, interweaving personal stories of struggles to survive with the science and politics of cancer research.
The Guardian First Book Award recognises the finest new authors who have had their first book published in English in the last year. As winner, Siddhartha receives a £10,000 prize plus an advertising package in the Guardian and the Observer.
Siddhartha Mukherjee, an American oncologist and award-winning science writer, said: "It is a great and distinct honor to be selected for this award. In recognising The Emperor of All Maladies, the judges have also recognised the extraordinary courage and resilience of the men and women who struggle with illness, and the men and women who struggle to treat illnesses. I am delighted and honoured to join a formidable list of writers and scholars - Zadie Smith, Alexandra Harris, Petina Gappah, Alex Ross among them. Thank you."
Author and academic Sarah Churchwell, who was on the judging panel, said: "The Emperor of All Maladies is a cultural history of cancer and its treatment, from its first identification as a disease in the ancient world to 21st century research into its cellular genesis and treatment.
"Siddhartha Mukherjee has marshalled an immense amount of material into a readable and inspiring story. The result is a gripping, enlightening read about the nature of illness and our battle against what begins to look like mortality itself."
The Guardian First Book Award is in association with Davidstow.
This year's judging panel were:
David Nicholls, author and screenwriter
Antonia Fraser, author
Sarah Churchwell, author and academic
Stuart Broom, events programmer, Waterstones
Katharine Viner, deputy editor, the Guardian
Lisa Allardice, editor, Guardian Review and chair of the judging panel
The other shortlisted titles were:
Pigeon English, Stephen Kelman (Bloomsbury)
Down The Rabbit Hole, Juan Pablo Villalobos (And Other Stories)
The Collaborator, Mirza Waheed (Viking)
The Submission, Amy Waldman (William Heinemann)
The shortlist was selected in collaboration with UK wide reading groups, run in partnership with Waterstones bookstores. The reading groups selected their favourite books from the longlist and these suggestions assisted the judging panel in selecting the final shortlist.
