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One Book. One Community.

UA Reads, a university and community-wide common reading program initiated in partnership between UA BookStores, the UA College of Humanities and the UA Alumni Association, invites participants to read a selected book and to have focused conversations about the book and the topics it raises, contributing to the development of community among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the public by providing common ground for the exchange of ideas and opinions. Discussion events will be schedule through the course of the year at various on-campus location and on the UA Reads BLOG.

The UA Reads program provides UA students—especially first year students—with a common reading experience that can enhance their critical thinking as they make begin their educational journey at the university, and the book is already being adopted into class curriculum. Tucson reading groups and public libraries are also invited to participate in both on- and off-campus UA Reads events.

To speak with a UA Reads Program coordinator about upcoming programs or to schedule a UA Reads discussion leader for your group, club, or class, please contact: Kathryn Ortiz at 520-621-8868 or at kortiz@email.arizona.edu.

About the book.

UA Student Union Memorial Center

The 2011-2012 UA Reads selection: The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen. Order book online »

The year is 1918. America is fighting a war on foreign soil that has divided the nation. Meanwhile, rumors spread of the deadliest epidemic ever are causing panic on the home front. The uninfected town of Commonwealth, Washington votes to quarantine itself, and two young friends are asked to guard the town entrance and keep strangers out. One day, a starving, cold, and seemingly ill soldier comes out of the woods begging for sanctuary, and the two guards are confronted with an agonizing moral dilemma. So begins The Last Town on Earth…

"The Last Town on Earth wraps the reader in its quiet power. As the characters become trapped by their town, we become increasingly trapped by our own fears and hopes. Thomas Mullen's debut is stirring, classic storytelling, with a deep resonance between the book's moment in history and our own times."—Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow

"Like the best historical fiction, The Last Town on Earth illuminates a place and time not our own…Mullen's novel [also] could not be more timely or relevant, and eerily so. I promise you, while you're reading The Last Town on Earth, the mere sound of a cough will be enough to raise the hair at the back of your neck."—Larry Watson, author of Montana 1948 and Orchard

Discussion Questions

Join the discussion on the UA Reads blog!

  1. What similarities and differences do you see between our society's reaction to Influenza A (H1N1) virus OR Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 and the communities in this novel?
  2. Why do you think Thomas Mullen used a "train" to describe Philip's fever?
  3. How did Philip and Graham's formative years "set the stage" for their actions?
  4. How did your upbringing prepare you for the challenges that you will face at the University of Arizona?
  5. When Frank arrives, Philip gets a "second chance" to make a different choice. How often does this happen in "real life"?
  6. What do you think of Rebecca? What is the role of women in the novel?
  7. Several characters believe that they could avoid the flu by "drinking whisky" or "wearing garlic" (Mullen, p. 244). Hysteria and fear often lead to irrational thinking and also actions. Can you think of other examples in literature or history where hysteria and fear led to outrageous ideas and behavior?
  8. "Although his job had seemed perfectly clear and understandable earlier in the day, he was realizing how completely unsure he was as to how it should be carried out" (Mullen, p.10). This quote illustrates the gap between broad goals and specific actions. Can you think of a time in your life when you dealt with a similar disparity?
  9. In the reader's guide, Mullen asks "What do we owe our fellow man, and to what degree is it morally acceptable for us to allow selfishness to dictate our decisions? To what degree do self-defense and self-interests allow us to bend moral principles?" (Mullen, p. 400). What do you think?
  10. Why do you think UA Reads selected "civil discourse" this year's theme? In what ways does the book relate to civil discourse?

Discussion questions adapted from questions courtesy of 2009 Summer Reading Book for the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program at Rutgers University.