What has caused far more of a stir in the American book world is the startling confession by the journalist Michael Kinsley, one of the award's judges, that he only even looked inside 50 of the 402 books competing for the prize - and he will only admit to "at least turning every page" of Caro's winning magnum opus.
Meanwhile UK novelist Mischa Hiller's debut, set in the weeks leading up to the massacre of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in 1982, Sabra Zoo, is among the four books competing for the £5,000 best first book award.
On Monday, the Folio Prize, born from frustration at the perceived shortcomings of the Man Booker, announced its inaugural shortlist of eight books competing for the £40,000 award.
There are also three non-fiction books competing for the Best book with facts prize.
Everywhere, a sort of bidding war breaks out as new plays, movies, dance and opera productions, art exhibitions and books compete for people's time and attention.
And it's only becoming harder in today's publishing climate, as more and more books compete for less and less shelf space.
Yet while researching for our book Competing for Customers, my coauthors and I found that very few companies are making real strides in ensuring customer success.
The books are competing for a £2,500 award in each category and the winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 8 November.
The book Competing with Giants is now available for purchase on Amazon.com.
In their book "Competing for the Future" (Harvard Business School Press), they said that a business should think of itself not as boxes on an organization chart but as a collection of skills, or competences, that cut across internal boundaries.
