One Book, One Philadelphia

FPRI is proud to support One Book, One Philadelphia, a joint project of the Mayor’s office and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

What Is the What

The book selected for the 2008 program, which runs from January 8 – March 20, 2008, is Dave Eggers’ What Is the What. Eggers’ book tells the true story of Valentino Achak Deng, who as a child witnessed atrocities of civil warfare in Sudan and became one of the so-called Lost Boys.

Two thematically related companion books for families are also suggested: Brothers In Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, by Mary Williams, and Of Beetles and Angels: A Boys Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard, by Mawi Asgedom.

Past Selections

Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy

The book selected for the 2007 program was Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire, the Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University.

Professor Eire presented at Living Without Freedom: A History Institute for Teachers, a conference for secondary school educators sponsored by FPRI’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education (now the Wachman Fund) and co-sponsored by the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia. An essay based on his talk is available: “ When Repression Masquerades as Social Justice: Confessions of a Cuban Boy,” FPRI FootNote, 6/2007.