The UC Davis Bookstore has joined the Campus Community Book Project and offers the current book at a discounted rate. The Campus Community Book Project seeks to promote a greater sense of community among students, staff, and faculty by creating a common experience (that of reading the same book) among campus members.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results.

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The Devil's Highway: A True Story

In May 2001, 26 Mexican men scrambled across the border and into an area of the Arizona desert known as the Devil's Highway. Only 12 made it safely across. American Book Award winning writer and poet Urrea (Across the Wire; Six Kinds of Sky; etc.), who was born in Tijuana and now lives outside Chicago, tracks the paths those men took from their home state of Veracruz all the way norte. Their enemies were many: the U.S. Border Patrol ("La Migra"); gung-ho gringo vigilantes bent on taking the law into their own hands; the Mexican Federales; rattlesnakes; severe hypothermia and the remorseless sun, a "110 degree nightmare" that dried their bodies and pounded their brains. In artful yet uncomplicated prose, Urrea captivatingly tells how a dozen men squeezed by to safety, and how 14 others whom the media labeled the Yuma 14 did not.

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Omnivore's Dilemma

The selection for UC Davis Campus Community Book Project for 2006 was, "Omnivore's Dilemma", by Michael Pollan.

"What should you eat? Michael Pollan addresses that fundamental question with great wit and intelligence, looking at the social, ethical, and environmental impact of four different meals. Eating well, he finds, can be a pleasurable way to change the world." Eric Schlosser

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The Kite Runner

The selection for UC Davis Campus Community Book Project for 2005 is, "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject - the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, the possibility of redemption, and the enduring power of fathers over sons - their love, their sacrifices, and their lies.

More information about the 2006 Campus Community Book Project can be found at: http://occr.ucdavis.edu/ccbp/

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Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

The selection for UC Davis Campus Community Book Project for 2004 is, "Twilight: Los Angeles 1992," by Anna Deavere Smith.

The author, an actor, educator, and playwright, interviewed nearly 200 individuals about the riots in Los Angeles in 1991 following the Rodney King verdict and composed a play of the multiple voices and perspectives. Her work portrays the varied facets of this complex societal issue and takes a piercing look at the consequences of police brutality, community segregation, and economic disparity. A talented actor, currently best known for her role as national security advisor on West Wing, Deavere Smith wrote the book as a script which she enacts in a performance piece based on several characters portrayed in the book.

More information about the 2004 Campus Community Book Project can be found at: http://occr.ucdavis.edu/ccbp/

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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The selection for UC Davis Campus Community Book Project for 2002 was, "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," by Anne Fadiman.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small country hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. This book was chosen for several reasons. First, the book offers our campus an opportunity to engage in a rich dialogue on how to foster mutual respect in a multicultural environment. Secondly, the text has broad appeal and application to a variety of disciplines, such as medicine, communication, political science, history, cultural studies, sociology and education. Finally, the story takes place within the medical community of UC Davis, namely the Merced Community Medical Center and, therefore, the events and experiences relate directly to our institution. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is strongly recommended for new incoming students.

More information about the 2002 Campus Community Book Project can be found at: http://occr.ucdavis.edu/pilot_bookproject.html

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