The Bill of Obligations book cover

Read 'The Bill Of Obligations: The Ten Habits Of Good Citizens'

CMC’s 2024 Common Reader engages students, staff, and community members with a series of events in spring and fall, culminating in a series of visits by author Richard Haass.

CMC’s Common Reader program selects one book every year and offers it for free distribution across the dozens of communities CMC serves – followed by a series of discussions, author talks and conversations at CMC campuses.

2024’s Common Reader will kick off with a livestreamed interview between New York Times bestselling author Richard Haass and Walter Isaacson, former editor of TIME and chair of CNN and the namesake of CMC’s Isaacson School for Communication, Arts & Media.

Given that 2024 is an election year, CMC plans to collaborate with other organizations in the state including media partners and generous financial sponsors to bring even more people across Colorado’s Western Slope together around civics and civil discourse.

About The Bill of Obligations

The United States faces dangerous threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, terrorists, climate change, and future pandemics. The greatest peril to the country, however, comes not from abroad but from within, from none other than ourselves. The question facing us is whether we are prepared to do what is necessary to save our democracy.

The Bill of Obligations is a bold call for change. In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Richard Haass argues that the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. The Bill of Rights is at the center of our Constitution, yet our most intractable conflicts often emerge from contrasting views as to what our rights ought to be.

Rediscovering Common Ground graphic
Richard Haass
Photo © Kaveh Sardari 2022

About Richard Haass

Richard is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations after having served as CFR’s president for twenty years. A seasoned diplomat, he chaired the multiparty negotiations in 2013 in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award.

Books by Richard Haass include

  • The Bill of Obligations (2023)
  • The World: A Brief Introduction (2020)
  • A World in Disarray (2017)
  • Foreign Policy Begins at Home (2013)
  • War of Necessity. War of Choice (2009)
  • The Reluctant Sheriff: The United States After the Cold War (1997)
Walter Isaacson

About Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson has held roles including editor of TIME magazine, CNN chairman and CEO, CEO of the Aspen Institute.  He is currently a professor of history at Tulane University and a prolific author.  His latest book “Elon Musk” (2023) quickly became yet another New York Times bestseller.

The Isaacson School for Communication, Arts & Media at Colorado Mountain College bears his name.

Books by Walter Isaacson include

  • Elon Musk (2023)
  • The Code Breaker (2021)
  • Leonardo da Vinci (2017)
  • The Innovators (2014)
  • Steve Jobs (2011)
  • Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007)
  • Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003)
  • Kissinger: A Biography (1992)

Book Copies

Check out or pick up a free hard copy of “The Bill of Obligations,” on a first come first serve basis at these locations.

eAudiobooks and eBooks are available through the CMC Libraries on the Libby app.

CMC Aspen
Front Desk

CMC Breckenridge - Dillon
Campus Front Entrances
Summit County Libraries

CMC Carbondale
Front Desk

CMC Central Services
Executive Suite, 3rd Floor
Garfield County Libraries

CMC Leadville
New Discovery Reception
Lake County Public Library

CMC Glenwood Springs
Front Desk
Glenwood Springs Branch Library

CMC Rifle
Front Desk
Garfield County Public Libraries

CMC Salida
Front Desk

CMC Spring Valley
Ascent Center Front Desk

CMC Steamboat Springs
Main Front Desk
CMC Steamboat Springs Campus Library

CMC Vail Valley
Front Desk

Resources for Rediscovering Common Ground

We will continue to add to this list.

News coverage of Rediscovering Common Ground

With Thanks to Collaborating Partners

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