If Penn’s incoming freshmen doubt that a few people can make an impact on society, they may change their minds after reading Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (2000). The nonfiction book has been chosen for the 2004 Penn Reading Project. During orientation freshmen will gather in small groups with faculty leaders to discuss issues raised by the book.
The Tipping Point examines such phenomena as crime waves, flu epidemics, fashion trends, and Paul Revere’s role in the American Revolution to show that little changes can have major effects.
—S.F.
