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Includes a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction books of interest to first-year programs.

Freshman Year Reading 2008 (Knopf Group only)
(19 MB)

Random House, Inc. Freshman Year Reading 2008
(3 MB)



FYE Adoptions
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Jon Krakauer's best-selling Into the Wild is now on DVD. Selected by a dozen universities for freshman reading programs.
book cover Mountains Beyond Mountains has been selected as a freshman read at The University of Florida, The University of New Haven, San Diego State University, Emory University, University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology this fall.
Honky has been selected as a freshman read at Western Washington University, Ohio State University at Marion, Butler University, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and John Carroll University this fall.
Featured Author

Funny in Farsi offers readers an intimate look at the immigrant experience through the lens of an exceptional—and exceptionally funny—Iranian family. Author Firoozeh Dumas’s poignant descriptions of what it feels like to be a stranger in a strange land will resonate with anyone who has ever experienced social alienation at any stage of life.

Click here to listen to the author discuss why her books engage students and unleash great discussions.
Knopf Speakers Bureau
Freshman Year Reading

Random House, Inc. publishes a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction books appropriate for first-year and Freshman Reading programs. The books suggested here should help initiate reflection and discussion among your incoming first-year students, who will begin their academic lives with a shared experience. They'll be prepared to discuss the stories of others and, thus, ready to share their own.

Many authors featured below are available to visit college campuses as part of a first-year program. Please email us for further information.

To order examination copies of any of these titles, please follow the instructions on our Examination Copy page.

Featured Titles
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The Last Town on Earth
Written by Thomas Mullen

Format: Trade Paperback, 432 pages
On Sale: July 31, 2007
Price: $13.95
ISBN: 978-0-8129-7592-5 (0-8129-7592-8)

Now in Paperback
Winner 2007 James Fennimore Cooper Prize

Deep in the mist-shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest is a small mill town called Commonwealth, conceived as a haven for workers weary of exploitation. And yet, the ideals that define this outpost are being threatened from all sides. A world war is raging, and with the fear of spies rampant, the loyalty of all Americans is coming under scrutiny. Meanwhile, another shadow has fallen across the region in the form of a deadly illness striking down vast swaths of surrounding communities.

Set against the backdrop of one of the most virulent epidemics that America ever experienced—the 1918 flu epidemic-Thomas Mullen's powerful, sweeping first novel is a tale of morality in a time of upheaval.
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Unbowed
Written by Wangari Maathai

Format: Trade Paperback, 368 pages
On Sale: September 4, 2007
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-307-27520-2 (0-307-27520-5)

Now in Paperback
Winner 2004 Nobel Peace Prize

In Unbowed, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai recounts her extraordinary journey from her childhood in rural Kenya to the world stage. Infused with her unique luminosity of spirit, Wangari Maathai's remarkable story of courage, faith, and the power of persistence is destined to inspire generations to come.

"Wangari Maathai's memoir is direct, honest, and beautifully written--a gripping account of modern Africa's trials and triumphs, a universal story of courage, persistence, and success against great odds in a noble cause."
—President Bill Clinton

http://www.greenbeltmovement.com/
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Plenty
Written by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon

Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
On Sale: April 24, 2007
Price: $24.00
ISBN: 978-0-307-34732-9 (0-307-34732-X)

One Book, One Community choice in Alliance, OH

The authors' food-focused experiment questions globalization, monoculture, the oil economy, environmental collapse, and the tattering threads of community. Thought-provoking and inspiring, Plenty offers more than a way of eating. In the end, it's a new way of looking at the world.

"Plenty posits a brilliant, improbable, and finally deliciously noble notion of connecting to the world by striving first to understand what's underfoot. Beautifully written and lovingly paced, it is at once a lonely and uplifting tale of deep respect between two people, their community, and our earth. Plenty will change your life even if you never could or would try this at home."
— Danny Meyer, author of Setting the Table
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Cool It
Written by Bjorn Lomborg

Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
On Sale: September 4, 2007
Price: $21.00
ISBN: 978-0-307-26692-7 (0-307-26692-3)


A groundbreaking book that transforms the debate about global warming by offering a fresh perspective based on human needs as well as environmental concerns.

"Bjorn Lomborg's rational and compassionate suggestions would save more lives, preserve more wilderness and have a better chance of eventually halting man-made global warming than hysterical catastrophism, global treaties, and high-minded energy rationing. Read this ingenious book."
—Matt Ridley, author of The Origins of Virtue

http://www.lomborg.com