You Recommend Freshmen 'Common Reads'

An ex-Marine captain shares his story of fighting in a recon battalion in both Afghanistan and Iraq, beginning with his brutal training at Quantico, Va., and, ultimately, fighting in the deadliest conflicts since the Vietnam War.

Science journalist Natalie Angier draws on interviews with hundreds of the world's top scientists to offer an entertaining guide to scientific literacy, exploring the fundamental principles of the major scientific disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology, geology and astronomy and their link to the world around us.

Presents an analysis of Barack Obama's views on war and the military in the first two years of his presidency, discussing his evolution from being a peace candidate to being a president conducting two wars and how this change affects national security and the nation's future.

David Brooks views current research from a variety of disciplines by following the lives and unconscious motivations of a hypothetical American couple as they grow, meet and change throughout their lives.

The best-selling author of The Great Derangement examines American financial, political and media power and argues that the dramatic series of events that led to the financial crisis also resulted in a complete shift of power to the self-interested elite.

With characteristic detail and aplomb Wolfe offers a portrait of modern college life through the story of the innocent but intelligent Charlotte Simmons and her times and travails in the halls and dorms of Dupont University.

An anniversary edition of a collection of interconnected fictional stories follows the members of an American platoon fighting in the Vietnam War, in a book that mirrors the author's own wartime experiences.

Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically gifted, autistic boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secrets about his mother.

The author describes how he utilized his position as a hotel manager in violence-stricken Rwanda to offer shelter to more than twelve thousand members of the Tutsi clan and Hutu moderates, an act that inspired an Academy Award-nominated film.

A model for the ideal state includes discussion of the nature and application of justice, the role of the philosopher in society, the goals of education, and the effects of art upon character.