That’s right—Upper School teachers are going to select our summer reading from the list for students.
This year, the English Department has assembled an array of nonfiction books that cover nearly every conceivable contemporary subject.
Dr. Thornton in a recent email to students and teachers invited us to “immerse” ourselves “in a clear and compelling work of non-fiction. There’s an eclectic bounty here. Choose a subject that’s always intrigued you, or turn to something completely foreign and new.”
He’s right about the bounty. As I look at the list, I see everything:
from football and returning soldiers to crisis and the bonds of family,
from the Amazon to growing up,
from survival to invention,
from pandemics to markets,
from hope to brutality.
My choice is Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel. (I would have chosen Collision Low Crossers, but I’ve already read and loved it—it’s one fine football story.) I’ve followed Finkel’s war reporting during the past ten years. His writings in places like the New Yorker and the Washington Post have been some of the finest, vivid, insightful, and no-holds-barred pieces about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His earlier book, The Good Soldiers, about the 2007 surge in Iraq is a painful but necessary read, and Thank You for Your Service just might be another one of those unforgettable books. I’ll let you know when we come back to school in the fall.
So–for now, take a look at the list, get ready to buy a copy of your choice at the book fair, and let us know what you’ve selected. We’d love to hear what looks good to you. If you’d like a preview of the books, the library has copies of everything on the list.
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