Read the books, see the films

Non-fiction adaptations from the awards season 2010

Invictus by John Carlin

Invictus is John Carlin's inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's national rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country in an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. It was adapted in 2009 by director Clint Eastwood, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

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Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

Trapped in a boring job and living in a tiny apartment in New York, Julie Powell regularly finds herself weeping on the way home from work. Then she finds escape in Julia Childs' legendary cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The richness of the sauces she slaves over begins to spread into her life as she finds the joie de vivre that has been missing for too many years.

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The Blind Side

by Michael Lewis

"Lewis has made a habit of writing about sport, but sport is really only a subtext for a much more meaningful examination of class and race. I wept at the end, something I have not done at the end of a work of non-fiction for a very long time." Malcolm Gladwell, The Observer - Books of the Year 2006.

Directed by John Lee Hancock, the film adaptation of The Blind Side is highly prominent in this year's awards season and stars Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates and Quinton Aaron.

Buy the movie tie-in