If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what one book would you like to have with you?

In celebration of our 4th Annual Special Collections Open House, Library Luau: Tropical Treasures in the Special Collections Research Center, we asked University of Chicago faculty members this very question. Below, you will see their selections and why they chose this book to take with them. All books are sorted by faculty name.

Want to read one of the books? Search the Library Catalog to find it at the University of Chicago Library. Or, Ask a Librarian for assistance.

Elena Bashir, Lect., Department of South Asian Languages & Civilizations

Oxford English Dictionary

Lee Behnke, Dir., Undergrad. Latin Prog., Department of Classics

Oxford English Dictionary
Since I might be on this desert island for a while, the OED would allow me to a) entertain myself with word derivations b) increase my vocabulary c) write my own novel which I could read to the assembled creatures should there be any.

David Bevington, Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus in Humanities, and Professor Emeritus, Departments of English Language & Literature and Comparative Literature, and the College

William Shakespeare, Nicholas Rowe, ed., Works of Shakespeare
1709, the first real edition. The edition of The Tempest has a splendid frontispiece with a full-page illustration of a ship in a tempest storm.

William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies
The first folio of 1623.

Ben Jonson, Works
1616, his first folio.

Sara Black, Department of Visual Arts

George Nicol, Ship construction and calculations. With numerous illustrations and examples; for the use of officers of the Mercantile Marine, ship superintendents, draughtsmen, etc.
Just in case... I'm marooned on a wooded isle.

Neil Chudgar, Department of English Language & Literature

Gerard Manley Hopkins, Poems
Whenever I need consolation, I turn to Hopkins. There is nobody I would rather have with me on a desert island (not even Defoe). His poems are about the fact of our living (as we all do live) quite alone in the world; about the despair of that solitude, and about the surprises that redeem and transmute it. His poems occur first as pure sounds, just as our mothers' voices do, and those sounds are evidence there is order and beauty in the mere fact of perception, which is all a person would have on a desert island, after all. Or maybe not: Hopkins reminds us, too, that in this order and beauty is also grace, which (when it occurs, always by surprise) turns solitude to "the heaven of desire."

Frank Conaway, Social Science Bibliographer, Regenstein Library

Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
My perfect companion for a rude and isolated exile would be Edward Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The subject of Gibbon’s History is continuously fascinating, and his account is endlessly rewarding. In its dependence directly upon original sources, the History marked an important advance in historiography; and though technically superseded today, it is a very respectable historical achievement. Gibbon’s boldly factual (or skeptical) treatment of religion was characteristic of the Enlightenment of which it is such a notable monument. Comprising three large volumes (in modern printings of Bury’s edition), or twelve in late 18th century editions, the work is capacious. But it is the History’s literary value that would make it an ideal comfort on a desert island. According to his Autobiography, Gibbon composed his work in his head, as he took turns about his large and peaceful garden. When he had worked and reworked a paragraph to his satisfaction, perfecting every phrase, he would come in to his desk and transcribe it. And now, more than two hundred years later, his efforts continue to satisfy. Each page of this enormous book, with its elegant and rolling periods and its characteristic wit and irony, gives pleasure, no matter how many times it is read. But you don’t have to believe me. Here’s Gibbon’s opening graph:

In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valour. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government. During a happy period (A.D. 98-180) of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this, and of the two succeeding chapters, to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth.

And here, from Chapter 2, is Gibbon on what today is called the "trickle down theory":

Agriculture is the foundation of manufactures; since the productions of nature are the materials of art. Under the Roman empire, the labour of an industrious and ingenious people was variously, but incessantly employed, in the service of the rich. In their dress, their table, their houses, and their furniture, the favourites of fortune united every refinement of conveniency, of elegance, and of splendour, whatever could soothe their pride or gratify their sensuality. Such refinements, under the odious name of luxury, have been severely arraigned by the moralists of every age; and it might perhaps be more conducive to the virtue, as well as happiness, of mankind, if all possessed the necessities, and none of the superfluities, of life. But in the present imperfect condition of society, luxury, though it may proceed from vice or folly, seems to be the only means that can correct the unequal distribution of property. The diligent mechanic, and the skilful artist, who have obtained no share in the division of the earth, receive a voluntary tax from the possessors of land; and the latter are prompted, by a sense of interest, to improve those estates, with whose produce they may purchase additional pleasures. This operation, the particular effects of which are felt in every society, acted with much more diffusive energy in the Roman world. The provinces would soon have been exhausted of their wealth, if the manufactures and commerce of luxury had not insensibly restored to the industrious subjects the sums which were exacted from them by the arms and authority of Rome.

Richard I. Cook, MD, Assoc. Prof., Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care

Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
Dense, complex, allusive, rewarding. A black comedy that perfectly captures the substance of the 20th century without once becoming maudlin or preachy.

Vera Dragisich, Exec. Officer & Sr. Lect., Department of Chemistry

Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
Dame Rebecca West does an amazing job describing the area, the people and the history of Yugoslavia prior to WWII. It is not only an interesting read, but an enjoyable one. Plus, it is an extremely long book; thus, able to last a long time and easily rereadable.

Gene Dye, University of Chicago Paris Center

For what it is worth, the one book I would like would inform me as to the best way of attracting rescue and surviving until rescue arrived. Intellectual, esthetic or literary interest would be distinctly secondary. Best regards from the far reaches of the University of Chicago Paris Center.

Henry J. Frisch, Prof., Department of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College

Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition

Richard W. Garnett, Vist. Prof., (Win/Spr), Law School

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov explores timeless questions of faith, reason, freedom, suffering, and love with striking sensitivity. The world is full of outrageous pain, unjustifiable suffering, and horror, Ivan observes. This fact makes it impossible for Ivan, or -- he thinks -- any rational person to believe in God and providence, and yet he wants to embrace and love life, even as he is convinced it is God-less and absurd. Dostoevsky does not provide, or pretend there is, an easy answer to Ivan's charges, but instead suggests, through Zosima and Alyosha, that authentic human freedom consists in selfless love of, and solidarity with, those who suffer. This love is, as one commentator has put it, proposed by Dostoevsky as "the only lasting answer to the perennial problem of evil and thus to the perennial question of human freedom."

Austan Goolsbee, Robert P. Gwinn Prof. of Economics, Graduate School of Business

Statistical Abstract of the United States
I am a data guy. The Statistical Abstract has data on whatever you might get interested in.

Peter K. Jansen, Assoc. Prof. Emeritus, Department of Germanic Studies, and the College

Marcel Proust, A la recherche du temps perdu
I have chosen this book, because one has to be marooned on a desert island, without a telephone and an internet connection, to do it justice and finish it. I know, because I have tried many times to do it under normal conditions. A desert island would be ideal!

Seth Jolly, Instructor, Committee on International Relations

The Bible
For two main reasons, I would take The Bible. First, it is a collection of literature that would provide endless opportunities to discover new things. It has poetry, history, intrigue, politics, conflict and, of course, religion. Second, it might provide some comfort on the deserted island, which no doubt would be in short supply.

Ying-Wan Lam, Res. Assoc. (Asst. Prof.), Department of Neurobiology, Pharmacology, & Physiology

Bob Harris ; illustrations by Benjamin Morehouse, A handbook for wilderness survival
I guess the spirit of the question is to ask what books are worth reading times over times. But if I were to take it literally and realistically, some sort of book on wilderness survival will be much more practical. I'm actually quite impressed that the University library has such kind of book.

David Larsen, Access Services Librarian, Regenstein Library

Henry David Thoreau, Journal (1837-1861)
Thoreau was a blogger before it was fashionable. His daily observations show that a focused gaze can produce broad insights into life and nature. No one captured the subtle changes of seasons better than Thoreau. He is unrivaled in his ability to satirize social conventions and question the supposed benefits of culture. Moreover, he wrote with a Yankee insistence on self-reliance and an assured belief that an awake mind can penetrate the mysteries of the universe. I can't think of a better companion to enliven a desert existence

Armando Maggi, Assoc. Prof. and Italian Grad. Adviser, Department of Romance Languages & Literature, Committee on History of Culture, and the College

LEON HEBREO, DIALOGHI D'AMORE [sixteenth century- special collections]
Dialoghi d'amore is dense and wonderful meditation on the nature of human love. The Jewish philosopher and physician Leone Ebreo sees spiritual and physical expressions of love as manifestations of the divine. Love mirrors the perfect harmony of the universe. Astrology, medicine, natural sciences testify to God's infinite love for his creation. This is a fundamental book of Renaissance philosophy.

Daniel Mass, Prof. Clin. Surg., Ortho. Surg., Department of Surgery

War and Peace or Shogun
Long entertaining novel that can be read over and over on a deserted island.

John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Srvc. Prof., Department of Political Science, and the College; Dir., Program on International Security Policy

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

Michael Mendoza, MD, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of the Biological Sciences / Department of Family Medicine

Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species
Apart from its possible direct relevance to being stranded on a desert island, I would choose Darwin's Origin of Species as my literary island companion. This text would offer me the opportunity to reconsider the biological and philosophical evolution of living organisms, and the island the perfect research laboratory in which to validate my observations.

Stuart Miller, Library Systems Analyst, Integrated Library Systems, Regenstein Library

E. M. Delafield, Diary of a Provincial Lady
This slyly hilarious account of life in 1930s provincial England is possibly one of best satires ever written. Delafield was clearly a keen observer of human foibles and--since it is hard not to believe that the Provincial Lady was inspired by herself--a wonderful self-parodist as well. Even though the world described seems light-years removed from the 21st century (which of course is part of its charm), we can immediately identify with the characters and situations. Tediously boring intellectual snobs who drop in unannounced, in-laws for Xmas, ongoing financial woes, sullen slackers for employees, rambunctious children, overly-talkative neighbors, taciturn spouses--all make their very amusing appearances under the Provincial Lady's discerning eye. It is the kind of book that only gets better with repeated readings--and I'd cheat the one-book rule by looking for an anthology that includes the sequels: Provincial Lady in London, the Provincial Lady in America (she was delighted with Chicago) and the Provincial Lady in Wartime.

Glenn Most, Prof., Committee on Social Thought, and the College

Virgil, Aeneid
better poetry than prose under these circumstances; and why not the best?

Jerome Perzigian, Creative Writing

Philip Roth, The Great American Novel
From the works of Aristophanes to Chaucer to Shakespeare to Swift to Clemens, right down to the submissions I'm receiving from the comedy-writing aspirants I'm privileged to be instructing this Winter Quarter, nothing in my opinion has ever appeared in print as funny as The Great American Novel by (Chicago alumnus) Philip Roth. A few more predictable titles made my short list, I promise--but we're talking desert island, right? Stranded there, I imagine I'd be feeling pretty gloomy, for at least the first couple of days anyway. And this book by Mr. Roth--though very much unloved by critics and unduly underestimated by the author himself--does a better and more lasting job of gloom-lifting, even after multiple readings, than an economy-size jar of Prozac. I believe there's a place for Sheer Comic Inventiveness in the canon of Serious World Literature; if that place turns out to be a desert island (actual or hypothetical), I think I could talk myself into being okay with that.

Daniel Raeburn, Lecturer, Creative Writing

The Arden Shakespeare[series]
Because Shakespeare's plays contain everything that recurs in this world; everything that makes us all human, and all one.

Srikanth Reddy, Asst. Prof., Department of English Language & Literature and the College

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass (the 1892 "death-bed edition").
If stranded on the proverbial desert island, I would without a doubt wish to have Whitman's Leaves of Grass with me for company above any other book of poetry in existence. This is because Leaves of Grass displays more qualities of personhood than any other text I can imagine. By turns exuberant, dejected, arrogant, intimate, and pensive, this book provides its reader with companionship in every possible permutation of her solitude.

James Redfield, Edward Olson Distinguished Srvc. Prof., Department of Classics, Committee on Social Thought, and the College

Homeri Opera (in one volume, on India paper) Oxford UP
More wisdom and poetry per ounce than any other book known to me.

Gil J. Stein, Dir., Oriental Institute; Prof., Oriental Institute, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilization, and the College

T. S. Eliot, Collected Poems

Dorinda von Tersch, Asst. Prof., Department of Physical Education & Athletics

Ken Follett, Pillars of the Earth
The story of a master stone mason's life commitment to building a medieval cathedral evoked not only a greater understanding of day to day life issues for this period of history but drew me in to question and challenge the idea of commitment and life passions. What are we willing to invest our whole life into knowing we will not be living to see the end result?

Bernard Wasserstein, Harriet & Ulrich E. Meyer Prof. of Modern European Jewish History, Department of History, and the College

The Oxford English Dictionary
The multi-volume Oxford English Dictionary would be the only realistic choice because 1 in the winter the bindings could be torn off and used as additional cladding for the walls of my hut; 2. in extremis the high-quality paper would provide a large source of emergency edible material; 3 the string used in the binding process (as distinct from glue used in inferior works) could be wound together to form a rope that might be used to raise my distress flag; 4 finally, any remaining paper could be used for purposes of personal hygiene that would be absolutely vital for survival in desert conditions.

Roman L. Weil, V. Duane Rath Prof. of Accounting, Graduate School of Business

Encyclopaedia Britannica
I gather I'll be there a long time. This will keep me busy for a lifetime.

Bruce Winstein, Samuel K. Allison Distinguished Srvc. Prof., Department of Physics, Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College

Claire Llewellyn, Survive on a Desert Island
Considering a 10 year period after being stranded, having this book with me would increase my chances of being able to eventually re-read not only my already favorite books but many new ones as well.

Meishan Zhao, Lab Dir., Gen. Chem., Department of Chemistry; Sr. Lect., Chem.; Sr. Research Assoc., James Franck Institute

Stuart Rice and Meishan Zhao, Optical Control of Molecular Dynamics
1. Faculty publication at University of Chicago.
2. First book in this hot research topics.

The Class Librarians' selections:

Nancy Spiegel, Class Librarian for the Class of 2007, Bibliographer for Art and Cinema

Encyclopedia of World Art New York: McGraw-Hill 1959. 17 vols.
The standard discussion of topics in art history, with signed, essay-length entries and a huge bibliography on every topic covered. Will keep me busy for years.

Rebecca Starkey, Class Librarian for the Class of 2008, Reference Librarian

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Each time I read Pride and Prejudice, it remains fresh and new. Plus the variety of characters and witty conversations that Austen creates would be wonderful company if I was alone on that island.

Paul Belloni, Class Librarian for the Class of 2009, Reference Librarian

Floyd Clymer, Treasury of foreign cars, old and new
I tried to talk myself into bringing a Norton Anthology of Poetry with me, but really the best thing for me would be a book about automobiles. I love to look at cars and read about the auto industry. I am most fascinated with foreign cars, especially stationwagons.

David Pavelich, Class Librarian for the Class of 2010, Special Collections Research Center

W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz Translated by Anthea Bell. New York: The Modern Library, 2001
I admit that this isn't exactly an uplifting book, and it wouldn't lighten any lost-at-seas days. But this is my favorite novel, poetically written, and it explores so much about the past, and memory, and change. The narrator's many encounters with Austerlitz, a polymath and architectural scholar with roots in WWII-era Prague, leads to monologues on fortresses, hotels, archives, and other places of order and confusion. In Austerlitz, the reader finds someone reaching backward to understand himself as he lives forward. A great novel! (And I don't say that about too many novels!)