Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by President Barack Obama has been chosen the 2009–10 UW Common Book for incoming freshmen. In the autobiography, first published in 1995, Obama gives a detailed account of his journey to self-discovery as a bi-racial citizen with roots in Hawaii, Kansas, Kenya and Indonesia. Steve Oliver, co-chair of the selection committee, believes the book "will provide faculty and staff a rich template to engage students in meaningful dialogue about complex and nuanced issues of race, identity and purpose."