other non-fiction finalists were : `` small victories : the real world of a teacher , her students and their high school , '' by samuel g. freedman ; `` richard milhous nixon : the rise of an american politician , '' by roger morris ; `` jackson pollock : an american saga , '' by steven naifeh and gregory white smith , and `` righteous pilgrim : the life and times of harold l. ickes , 1874-1952 , '' by t.h .