Common Reading Experience selection
for 2009-2010

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The Campus Reading Board announces its Fall ‘09 Selection: THE BEAST IN THE GARDEN by David Baron

As the New Scientist says, this is, “A book that grabs its readers and does not let them go until the last page (January 2005).” This true story begins in 1991 when a young jogger in Boulder, Co., was plucked from a trail by a mountain lion and killed. The dramatic narrative of this young man and the eventual death of the mountain lion includes a complicated and serious conversation about the fascinating and often disturbing connections between humans and nature. David Baron describes the confusion and subsequent behavior of wild animals whose habitat is being destroyed by humans who want to “live with nature.” Baron also lays out the agonizing human dilemmas and conflicts that result when we grapple with policies of non-interference and the need to be safe. This book is thought-provoking, and rich with ideas. You will think about the issues as you go about your business. It is about “environmentalism either gone terribly wrong or brilliantly correct, depending on your perspective,” says the Providence Journal. The Beast in the Garden leaves it up to you to decide.

Watch fordates for faculty discussion groups.

The 2009-2010 Common Reading Experience selection:

View our save the date poster:

Common Reading Experience

Common Reading Experience selection for 2009-2010

Common Reading Experience selection
for 2009-2010