MARQUETTE, Mich.—The Things They Carried, author Tim O'Brien's fictional account of a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, is the 2009 featured selection for the One Book, One Community program in Marquette County.

The book—comprised of a series of linked stories—was published in 1990 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. O'Brien mined his experiences as a foot soldier in Vietnam to write a powerful American classic that examines the myriad effects of war on man: fighting, waiting, monotony and the aftermath. All are "brutally scrutinized in heartbreakingly beautiful prose that captivates and educates readers of all ages."

The Things They Carried also complements the 2009-10 selection for The Great Michigan Read, a book club for the entire state. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner is a memoir chronicling Bich Ming Nguyen’s migration from Vietnam in 1975 and her coming of age in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the 1980s.

One Book, One Community is designed to bring Marquette County residents and Northern Michigan University students together to read and discuss the same book. Updates on the program and a schedule of discussions and special events will be posted at www.nmu.edu/onebook.