Beacon Press: Freshman Year and Campus-Wide Reading Programs
Freshman Year and Campus-Wide Reading Programs
Beacon Press is a 150-year-old independent publisher of
serious nonfiction and fiction. Beacon books expose readers to themes
important to the human condition, such as diversity, religious pluralism,
and freedom of thought and speech. Our books enable students to
develop their own opinions, engaging them in the social issues of
our time, and helping them develop into citizens of the world.
The
following is a list of our recommended First-Year Reading selections,
followed by Regional Interest selections. The key themes and locations
have been identified for each of the Fiction and Memoir selections.
Kindred by Octavia
Butler
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth
birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly
from her home in California and transported to the antebellum
South. With more than 250,000 copies in print, Kindred
explores the experience of slavery using the device of time-travel.
Readers' guide available for free download.
Selected as First-Year Reading at Northern Kentucky University
and Spelman College
Slavery and African American Studies / Los Angeles and Maryland
West of the Jordan
by Laila Halaby
Through the narratives of four cousins at the brink of maturity,
Laila Halaby immerses her readers in the lives, friendships,
and loves of girls struggling with national, ethnic, and sexual
identities. Interweaving their stories, allowing us to see each
cousin from multiple points of view, Halaby creates a compelling
and entirely original story, a window into the rich and complicated
Arab world.
Readers' guide available for free download.
Winner of the 2003 PEN/Beyond Margins Award
Arab American Experience / Palestine, Jordan, and Los Angeles
The Healing by
Gayl Jones
Harlan Jane Eagleton transforms herself from a minor rock star's
manager to a traveling faith healer in this lyrical and often
humorous exploration of the struggle to let go of pain, anger,
and even love. Readers' guide available for free download.
Finalist for the 1998 National Book Award
The African American Experience / East Coast and Kentucky
Mother to Mother
by Sindiwe Magona
In 1993, Fulbright scholar Amy Elizabeth Biehl, in Capetown
to help organize elections, was killed in the black township
of Guguletu. The killer's mother, Mandisa, addresses herself
to the mother of the dead girl and gives a compelling account
of the harrowing life of Africans in the townships. This historical
novel offers a compelling look at cross-cultural understanding.
Readers' guide available for free download.
Apartheid and Cultural Understanding / South Africa
Thousand
Pieces of Gold
by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
This masterfully told biographical novel is the true story
of Lalu Nathoy, a thirteen-year-old Chinese girl who was
enslaved and sent to America. Renamed Polly, she is eventually
freed and lives out her days with her husband on a farm
in Idaho. The story tells of an extraordinary woman's successful
fight for independence and respect in the early American
West. Readers' guide available for free download.
Women's Rights, Slavery, and Frontier Life / Idaho and San Francisco
Makai by Kathleen
Tyau Makai chronicles the story of best friends Annabel Lee
and Alice Lum, living in Honolulu's Chinatown. While Annabel
Lee goes makai toward the sea and ends up on the mainland,
Alice stays behind. Three decades later their lives are intertwined
again, and Alice struggles with the breakdown of her family,
the questioning of her life choices, and the acceptance of her
imminent journey into old age.
The Burdens of History and Multiracial Societies/ Hawaii
The Bathhouse
by Farnoosh Moshiri
This startling novel begins with the arrest of a seventeen-year-old
girl in the early days of the fundamentalist revolution in Iran.
Imprisoned because of her brother's involvement with leftist
politics, she is placed in a makeshift jail, a former bathhouse,
in which other women are also held captive. In this gripping
narrative, Moshiri explores the courage and humanity that these
prisoners uphold in the face of tyranny. Readers' guide available for free download.
Political Oppression, the Oppression of Women, and Religious Fundamentalism
/ Iran
Plum Bun: A Novel
without a Moral by Jessie Redmon Fauset
Written at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Plum Bun
is the story of a young black girl who discovers she can pass
for white and learns that being a woman has its own burdens
that don't fade with the color of one's skin.
Racism and Sexism / Philadelphia and New York City
Memoir
All Souls: A Family Story from
Southie by Michael Patrick MacDonald
"My students were completely captivated by All Souls. It gave
them their first real understanding of poverty, violence, and the wounds
and scars of racism for white people as well as African Americans. Yet
they also understood that this is a book about love, not hate—hope,
not despair." —Elaine Tyler May, professor of American Studies
and History, director of Graduate Studies, American Studies Department,
University of Minnesota
Youth / Race / Violence / Poverty / Boston
Acts of Faith: The Story of an
American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation by Eboo
Patel
"Acts of Faith, a beautifully written story of discovery and
hope, chronicles Dr. Eboo Patel's struggle to forge his identity as a
Muslim, an Indian, and an American. In the process, he developed a deep
reverence for what all faiths have in common, and founded an interfaith
movement to help young people to embrace their common humanity through
their faith. This young social entrepreneur offers us a powerful way to
deal with one of the most important issues of our time." —President
Bill Clinton
Interfaith Dialogue / Youth Activism
Saffron Sky by Gelareh Asayesh
In her early teenage years, Gelareh Asayesh immigrated with her family to
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from Iran. Saffron Sky is the story
of her attempts to construct an American life that included the spiritual
fervor and rituals that were part of her life in Iran.
Immigrant Experience / Iran and North Carolina
Hunting for Hope: A Father's Journeys
by Scott Russell Sanders
After an angry confrontation with his son on a hiking trip intended to restore
their relationship, Scott Sanders realizes that his own despair about the
ills of our age has darkened his son’s world. In Hunting for Hope
he discovers reasons for optimism: the healing powers in nature, culture,
community, and each of us.
Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal
History of Violence in America by Geoffrey Canada
Through shattering storytelling, Geoffrey Canada recreates his childhood
world, one in which the "sidewalk" boys learned the codes of
the block from their elders and were ranked through the rituals of fist,
stick, and knife. This is one of the most brilliantly evocative books
on child violence in America. Readers' guide available
for free download.
Youth, Violence, and Coming of Age / New York City
An Autobiography: The Story of
My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In
his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed
his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian
struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the
twentieth century.
Peace and Nonviolence / India
Here I Stand by Paul Robeson
Renowned African American actor and singer Paul Robeson spent his life battling
for the civil rights of all Americans. Robeson was blacklisted during the
McCarthy era and wrote his famous memoir, Here I Stand, as a bold
answer to his accusers.
Civil Rights, Segregation, McCarthy Era / United States
Notes of a Native Son by James
Baldwin
Originally published in 1955, James Baldwin’s first nonfiction book has
become a classic. These searing essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel,
movies, and Americans abroad remain as powerful today as when they were
written.
Civil Rights and the African American Experience / Harlem
You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving
Train: A Personal History of Our Times by Howard Zinn
Acclaimed historian Howard Zinn has both chronicled and participated in
some of the most important social movements of our time. In You Can't
Be Neutral on a Moving Train, Zinn's experiences speak to the future
as much as to the past: they show in vivid detail how small actions can
affect historic change.
Vietnam and Civil Rights Movement / New York, Georgia, and Boston
Life Work by Donald Hall
Distinguished poet Donald Hall reflects on the meaning of work, solitude,
and love.
Finding a Vocation, Becoming a Writer / New Hampshire
Breathing Space: A Spiritual
Journey in the South Bronx by Heidi Neumark
Compared to the work of writers like Alex Kotlowitz and Jonathan Kozol,
Heidi Neumark's Breathing Space is an extraordinary memoir. Neumark—a
young woman from a suburban, Ivy League background—spent nearly twenty
years ministering in a Hispanic and African American Lutheran church, aptly
named Transfiguration. Through poignant, intimate stories, Neumark charts
her journey alongside her parishioners as pastor, church, and community
grow in wisdom and together experience transformation.
Faith-based Social Change Work and Community Organizing / New York
Flying Colors: The Story
of a Remarkable Group of Artists and the Transcendent Power of Art by
Tim Lefens
Ten years ago, Tim Lefens was introduced to a group of severely challenged
students living at the Matheny School in New Jersey, none of whom could
walk, only one of whom could talk, and all lacking the use of their hands.
Lefens improvised a number of art techniques for the students, and they
came to express themselves through their painting in breathtaking style.
Flying Colors is an immensely inspiring story about leaping over obstacles,
revealing the passion and determination of one man, his student artists,
and their luminous expression.
Youth and Disability / New Jersey
Nonfiction
Common Fire: Leading
Lives of Commitment in a Complex World by Laurent A. Parks Daloz,
Cheryl H. Keen, James P. Keen, and Sharon Daloz Parks
A landmark study that reveals how we become committed to the common good
and sustain such commitments in a changing world.
Based on a hugely popular course at Harvard, Global Values 101
puts forth the idea that dedication to an issue and commitment
to continuing one's personal education by being open-minded, politically-savvy,
and willing to help those in need are principles that cross party lines.
Political Activism, Social Justice/ United States
In Our Own Best Interest: How
Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All by William F. Schulz
"What does all this have to do with a person in East Tennessee?"
is the question, from a call-in radio-program listener, that prompted
William Schulz, head of Amnesty International, U.S.A., to write this book.
An insightful work, laced with compelling stories of women and men from
all continents, the book clearly delineates the connection between Americans'
prosperity and human rights violations all over the globe. Schulz builds
a powerful case for defending our own interests by vigorously defending
the human rights of people everywhere.
Taking Back the Vote: Getting
American Youth Involved in Our Democracy by Jane Eisner
Young people are volunteering in record numbers, but many of them don't
vote. Why? In Taking Back the Vote, respected journalist and political
commentator Jane Eisner analyzes this decline in voter participation and
suggests concrete ways of reinvigorating our youth to get out and vote.
Taught by America: A Story of
Struggle and Hope in Compton by Sarah Sentilles
After graduating from Yale University, Sarah Sentilles joined Teach
for America and was assigned to a rundown elementary school in Compton,
California. Through moving portraits of inspiring children, Sentilles
relates a heartbreaking journey, as she learns about a failing school
system, the true meaning of poverty in America, and the strength children
exhibit when they're just struggling to survive. Beautifully written,
charged with love and indignation, Taught by America is a powerful tribute
to the young lives Sentilles witnessed.
Education, Race and Education / Memoir
Walden by Henry
David Thoreau
A fresh look at Thoreau's classic on its 150th anniversary. Bill McKibben,
author of The End of Nature, identifies two questions asked by Thoreau
as central to a late-twentieth-century reading of Walden: "How much
is enough?" and "How do I know what I want?" Readers'
guide available for free
download.
We Are All Suspects Now: Untold
Stories from Immigrant Communities after 9/11 by Tram Nguyen
In We Are All Suspects Now, Tram Nguyen tells, for the first
time, the personal stories of immigrants whose lives have been affected,
often tragically, by the political aftermath of 9/11. Nguyen draws on
the observations of key activists, analysts and scholars to detail how
communities have been targeted and damaged and what actions can be taken
in response.
Immigrant Experience, Arab-American Studies, Political Oppression/
United States, Middle East
When the Rivers Run Dry: Water—The
Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century by Fred Pearce
In this groundbreaking book, veteran science correspondent Fred Pearce
travels to more than thirty countries to examine the current state of
crucial water sources. Deftly weaving together the complicated scientific,
economic, and historic dimensions of the world water crisis, he provides
our most complete portrait yet of this growing danger and its ramifications
for us all.
Nature and Environment
Regional
Northeast: Boston
The Good City: Writers Explore
21st Century Boston Edited byEmily Hiestand and Ande Zellman
This collection presents a vivid new portrait of Boston through the writing
of fifteen of the city's finest authors, including Anita Diamant, Susan
Orlean, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Scott Kirsner, and Derrick Jackson.
July 2004 / 0-8070-7143-9 / $14.00 / paperback
Northeast: Massachusetts
Five Thousand Days Like This
One: An American Family History by Jane Brox
When her father dies and leaves her to decide the fate of the family
farm, Jane Brox reflects on how family identity can endure when so few
traces of former lives are left. With a poet's eye and a historian's
hunger, she is driven to search out her family’s past in the fascinating
and quintessentially American history of the Merrimack Valley, its farmers,
and the immigrant workers caught up in the industrial textile age.
Midwest
Hollowing Out the Middle: The
Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America by Patrick J. Carr
and Maria J. Kefalas
"Reminiscent of the great sociological classics, Middletown and
Elmtown's Youth, Pat Carr and Maria Kefalas have produced an exemplary
account of coming of age in a midwestern town. This book is required
reading for the policy and research community and anyone thinking about
issues facing young adults in America." —Frank Furstenberg,
Zellerbach Family Chair of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania and
author of Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teenage
Childbearing
In Limestone Country by
Scott Russell Sanders
From a patch of land in southern Indiana has come the stone for many of
the country's most famous buildings, including the Washington Cathedral,
the Pentagon, the Empire State Building, and Chicago's Tribune Tower.
In Limestone Country is the story of the stone, from its geologic origins
through its mining history to the present. Sanders records the folklore,
the craft, the distinctive culture that has grown up around Indiana limestone.
Pacific Northwest: Idaho
Thousand Pieces of Gold
by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
This masterfully told biographical novel is the true story of Lalu Nathoy,
a thirteen-year-old Chinese girl who was enslaved and sent to America.
Renamed Polly, she is eventually freed and lives out her days with her
husband on a farm in Idaho. The story tells of an extraordinary woman's
successful fight for independence and respect in the early American West.
Readers' guide available
for free download and at the back of the book.
West Coast: California
Totem Salmon by Freeman
House Totem Salmon tells the story of a determined band of locals who've
worked for over two decades to save one of the last purely native species
of salmon in California. The book traces the evolution of the Mattole
River Valley community in northern California as it learns to undo the
results of rapacious logging practices; to invent ways to trap wild salmon
for propagation; and to forge a community interested in ecological preservation.
House's discussion of indigenous fishing rituals and of land ownership
shows us precisely why he's considered a West Coast visionary.
How to Request Exam Copies for Freshman Year and Campus-Wide Reading Programs
Complimentary exam copies for instructors considering books for freshman
year and campus-wide reading programs are available at the discretion of Beacon
Press. Exam copies for any book recommended on this page should be ordered
online through our regular shopping cart. More detailed instructions follow
below.
If you are interested in receiving a complimentary exam copy of one of our
other books for your freshman year or campus-wide reading program, please
contact:
Dani Perea, Sales and Marketing Associate
Beacon Press
25 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108
Email: dperea@beacon.org
Phone: 617-948-6573
Fax: 617-742-2290
Ordering exam copies online for your freshman and campus-wide reading
programs:
Click on the desk and exam copy link at the top of the book's page, fill
in all required information, and hit "request copy." The following
information must be filled out on our online form: instructor name, institution
name, shipping address, phone number, email, course, department, expected
enrollment, course semester, and number of exam copies.
Beacon Press is a department of the