Too Naked for the Nazis crowned oddest book title of the year as it wins The Bookseller’s Diagram Prize
There's plenty of strange sounding books out there, but the oddest title of the year has just been awarded to one that really did put the effort in.
Step up Alan Stafford, for his work Too Naked for the Nazis.
The book, about a vaudeville group, beat off tough competition including a photography book, Soviet Bus Stops, and a book on cult film entitled Transvestite Vampire Biker Nuns from Outer Space.
Stafford nominated his own book for the Diagram Prize, now in its 38th year, which is run by The Bookseller magazine.
"A good title not only tells the public what the book’s about, sometimes it tells the author too," said Stafford.
"Too Naked for the Nazis pinpoints the central event of my book—when a trio of comedy Egyptian sand dancers incurred the wrath of the Nazi high command by a blatant exposure of hairy legs."
The prize is decided by a public vote and The Bookseller said that this year's competition was the toughest yet, with Stafford winning just 0.4 per cent more of the votes than Jonathan Allan, who came in second place with his academic work Reading from Behind: A Cultural History of the Anus.
Horace Bent, custodian of the prize at The Bookseller, said: "When future historians write about 2016, they will inevitably look at two seismic events: the closest Diagram Prize race of all time, and the election of President Donald Trump which led to the downfall of Western civilisation
"Until that dire time, we can celebrate a worthy winner from one of the strongest Diagram shortlists in recent memory."