Thomas Friedman's new book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded", was recently selected for the upcoming year's "One Book, One Northwestern" project. It is the fourth book selected, following, in chronological order, "Othello" by William Shakespeare, "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin and "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin" by David Quammen.
The merits of Friedman's new book notwithstanding-and there is something to be said for suspicion when facing the regurgitating of his own rather banal phrase "The World Is Flat"-I'm beginning to wonder if campus unity is the real principle behind the project. If the entire incoming class is supposed to come together around one book, shouldn't it be something that speaks to all of them? Unfortunately, the selections so far have been predictably conservative and show a general lack of ambition with regard to engaging students.
"Othello" has been perhaps the best choice, though also very obvious, Shakespeare being an easy fallback for anyone looking to address broad themes like love, jealousy and honesty. Who can't relate to the downfall of a man that "thinks men honest that but seem to be so"? To always look below the surface in pursuit of the truth is a valuable lesson for any prospective scholar.
"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is fantastic, but it's hard to know who the intended audience is. It may be a classic, but it seems like a rather irrelevant introduction to contemporary college life. It's neither topical nor timeless.
The third selection is even harder to fathom. Part academic text about the origin of the theory of evolution and part personal biography of Charles Darwin, Quammen's book is so obscure as to render it worthless for a large audience.
And finally, there is Monsieur Friedman, cheerleading triumphantly on the back of his most recent screed, composed of superlatives and hyperbolic descriptions of the fantastic nature of globalization. Why, pray tell, does Northwestern need to do any more advertising (or, more accurately, shilling) for a man who has it all? Well, probably because he's coming to NU in the fall for incoming University President Morton Schapiro's inauguration ceremomy, a rather callous use of a community project as leverage for a big-name speaker. Instead of pandering to the middlebrow intellectual cabal, which includes such dubious luminaries as Malcolm Gladwell and Chris Anderson, NU should be selecting books by authors who actually challenge student's conception of themselves and their place in the world. Books like "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" are just preaching to the choir.
So what books might they select? Given the private school pedigree and generally wealthy socioeconomic status of our student body, it might be worthwhile to have incoming students read about, say, the existence of extreme poverty in America and elsewhere. Maybe "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich-a gripping first-person accounts-or a truly timeless piece of reportage like "How the Other Half Lives" by Jacob Riis. Or perhaps, if we want to really keep it topical, something about how the supposedly brilliant financial elite (who all graduated from schools like NU) created a house of cards that wrecked our economy.
There are many great choices, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the selections of "One Book, One Northwestern".
-Kyle Berlin
Medill Senior
is a member of the 
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