One Book One Community Author Event

Every year, the Summit County community reads one book to create a shared experience from reading. Reading the same book explores our commonalities. The Cold Millions by Jess Walter is the 2022 One Book One Community book.

Celebrate the journey of reading Jess Walter’s book together by attending his author talk. Jess Walter will be taking questions after his talk.

One Book One Community is made possible with the partnership of Park City Library, Summit County Library, and Dolly’s Bookstore. Discussion guides are available to pick up at your local library.

Reading Guide

More about the book:

The Cold Millions offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a nation grappling with the chasm between rich and poor, between harsh realities and simple dreams. It is an intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice,  and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early twentieth-century America that eerily echoes our own time.

The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While sixteen-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his older brother, Gig, dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. Enter Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar and introduces the brothers to a far more dangerous creature: a mining magnate determined to keep his wealth and his hold on Ursula.

Dubious of Gig’s idealism, Rye finds himself drawn to a fearless nineteen-year-old activist and feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. But a storm is coming, threatening to overwhelm them all, and Rye will be forced to decide where he stands. Is it enough to win the occasional battle, even if you cannot win the war?