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 that promotes reading, literacy, library use, and community building by motivating tens of thousands of people to read an annual featured selection

The Complete Persepolis

The book selected for the 2010 program, which runs from January 20 to March 17, 2010, is Marjane Satrapi’s The Complete Persepolis. Originally published in France in two volumes, The Complete Persepolis is Satrapi’s poignant, humorous, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during a time of political revolution and repression. An outspoken and imaginative child, Satrapi grappled with understanding the ruling power in her country as she witnessed the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the Islamic Revolution’s triumph, and the chilling impact of war with Iraq.

Past Selections

What Is the What

The book selected for the 2008 program, which ran from January 8 – March 20, 2008, was 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.

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.