Stanford's Summer Reading

Most people dread summer reading. After all, who wants to start school early anyway?! But for many Stanford students, our summer reading rings a different note. For one, we only move during the third week of September. New Student Orientation (NSO) starts September 20th. I finished highschool in the middle of May, so I'll have a total of four months of vacation. Sounds fun, right? Well, actually it's pretty boring after a while! Summer reading means something productive to do. It also is a precursor to our real school work, which we are all very excited about.


The second reason that we are excited about our summer reading is because this reading program (The Three Books Program) is quite a bit different to most other summer reading programs. Every single freshman is reading the same three books. These books are NOT for a specific class. Instead, we will have a chance to converse with, and ask questions to, the authors of the three books. Pretty cool right? Not only do we do that, but we also will have time allocated to discus the significance and meaning of the books with the people in our dorms. Stanford students love engaging in intellectual conversation, so whether we liked the books or not, I think most students will be excited to share their experience and opinion with others.


So what are we reading?


March is the story about the father from the book, Little Women. In Little Women, he is absent for a large portion of the story, as he is out fighting in the Civil War. This book is his story. It focuses on the lessons learned during a war such as the Civil War; the passion, dreams, and hopes that are either built or shattered. Readers gain an very accurate, and graphic, perspective of what happened during the War.





One Bullet Away is a very interesting tale of a Dartmouth graduate who chooses to become a Marine, instead of taking a consulting job like his peers. This is my personal favorite, because it is such a raw book. Reading his perspective is extremely interesting and scintillating. If you want to know how military service changes a person, builds character and develops values, then read this book.





I have not begun this book yet, but I am excited to do so. According to Amazon.com, " author Carter (The Emperor of Ocean Park) examines Obama's words (particularly his invocation of the "just war tradition" during his Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech, the full text of which is included here) and actions in order to determine his position on "what he believes to be worth fighting for." Rather than vilifying Obama, who has continued the dubious war-mongering of his predecessor, Carter believes that neither Bush nor Obama had much choice, arguing that modern warfare, involving drone attacks and long-distance fighting, is an autopoietic process." 


This will probably be the most controversial of all the books. Did Obama have a choice about the war? This question will most likely come up in the dorm discussions. I am excited about this (even if I'm in the minority!) because the intellectual stimulation that will stem and grow from this first step will be very exciting and monumental in the building of Stanford's Class of 2015.

Maybe you'd like to buy these books and read them. Perhaps it'll give you an idea of what it's like to be a first year Stanford student. They aren't terribly hard reads, so go ahead! Click on the images and you'll be taken to the Amazon product.


Until next time!