06/08/2018
The College of Idaho First Year Experience is pleased to announce the selection of Trevor Noah’s memoir, Born A Crime, as the 2018-19 First Year Book. Continuing the tradition of common reading, all incoming first-year students will receive a copy of the book before arriving to campus. Reading the First Year Book provides a platform for participating in Welcome Week programming, discussions, and engagement that continues throughout the fall semester. The book will be available in multiple formats this year, including traditional print copies, by digital download, or an audible version.
Decades before landing the desk job at The Daily Show, Noah’s first-born act was considered criminal—being biracial in South Africa under apartheid. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life (Penguin Random House). Exploring themes of identity, religion, resilience, and the power of familial bonds, Noah’s memoir leaves the reader challenged to reflect on the fundamental question, “What shapes you?”
Trevor Noah is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show. Noah rose improbably to stardom with The Racist, his one-man show at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He made his US television debut that year on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, becoming the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on either late-night program (Penguin Random House).
