Course Books

This page includes course book lists for classes administered during the 2026-2027 academic year.

On this page you will find the course book lists, organized by department and by course number. For each book, we specify whether used or e-book editions are acceptable and included additional notes when needed.

We encourage parents and students to review their course book needs as soon as possible to avoid back orders and delays. Some online book vendors, such as AbeBooks, may have high-quality used copies. As to which vendors to buy course books from, that is up to you. Parents and students often order course books online from large book retailers, like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Local bookstores, such as Brookline Booksmith or The Harvard Bookstore, may have course books in stock, or the ability to order them for you, but be careful to purchase the correct edition by checking ISBN numbers.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you do your course-book shopping:

If you have a financial aid grant, textbooks are factored into your grant, and Commonwealth will order these books on your behalf. We place book orders in mid-August, and students can pick up their books prior to the beginning of school.
Please be very mindful of ISBNs. When purchasing books online, be sure to search for them by ISBN (International Standard Book Number) so you have the correct edition. It is typically better to search for ISBNs on Google to pull up book vendors rather than searching for the ISBN on Amazon, where in some cases the search results list other editions of the book. Different editions of textbooks may have different page numbers, content, or problem sets, so buying the wrong book will make homework a real challenge! If you are buying your books used or from a bookstore, you should be able to double-check the ISBN by looking above the barcode on the back of the book.
Several courses include source books, reading packets, or other materials that will be available at school at the beginning of the year; these are noted on the list. This is the case for all English classes. Families who do not have financial aid grants will be billed for these materials at a later date.
There are no required books for computer science or arts courses.
If a course is not explicitly listed with course books, it does not have any books that need to be purchased prior to the start of the year.
Keep in mind that there is an annual textbook exchange sale for course books. Be on the lookout for email updates.

Please address any questions or problems to Director of Operations, Stephanie Poynter, at spoynter@commschool.org or Librarian and Registrar, Jake MacDonnell, at jmacdonnell@commschool.org.

Summer Reading Packets (PDFs):

Course Books

English

History

ANCIENT HISTORY

Note: if students wish to purchase the Worlds Together e-book, they should buy it from the publisher, W.W. Norton. The Amazon Kindle link is to a different edition.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (10th ed.)	Mary Lynn Rampolla	978-1319244415	No	Yes	Yes
Alexander The Great	James Romm, ed.	9780872207271	No	No	No
It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences	June Casagrande	9781580087407	No	Yes	No
The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh	David Damrosch	978-0805087253	Yes	Yes	Yes
The Epic of Gilgamesh	trans. Maureen Gallery Kovacs	978-0804717113	No	No	No
Worlds Together, Worlds Apart with Sources, Concise 4th edition, volume 1	Jeremy Adelman and others	978-1324064329	No	Yes	Yes
Sourcebook - provided in school.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

MEDIEVAL WORLD HISTORY

Sourcebook is supplied by instructor.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
China: A History (Volume 1, From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire)	Harold M. Tanner	978-1624663055	No	No	No
A Short History of the Middle Ages, Sixth Edition	Barbara H. Rosenwein	978-1487540999	No	No	No
The Prince	Machiavelli	978-0199535699	Yes	Yes	No

UNITED STATES HISTORY

Summer reading assignment linked here. Students do not need a separate textbook, but if they want one for review purposes, Ms. Haber recommends any edition of Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty. If students have a tablet with a PDF reader they can mark up with a stylus and email the instructor by August 23rd, they can have a PDF of the Sourcebook rather than paying for a paper copy. (The PDF will be available to all students.)

From Ms. Haber: "Changes in the Land by William Cronon (ISBN: 9780809016341): Please read William Cronon's “ethno-ecological” history of New England: Changes of the Land (ISBN: 978-0809016341). Taking paper notes on a copy from the library or an e-book is just fine. This profound and revolutionary book explores how Native Americans transformed the environment before contact with Europeans—and how the changing economy of the 17th century led to an ecological transformation. I encourage you to read the whole book, but if you want a shorter version, read chapters 4, 5, and 8. There is an optional, extra-credit assignment here to help you read actively, looking for the author’s argument amidst the detail (a skill we’ll try to practice in the coming year!) This book looks drier than it actually is—and reading actively may help you uncover the quite radical claims hidden within.

Students could also use the summer to prepare for the states quiz in September (filling out a blank map)."

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Changes in the Land	William Cronon	978-0809016341	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sourcebook	n/a	n/a	No	No	No

UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1865

Link to the summer reading guided questions. Students don't need a separate textbook, but if they want one for review purposes, Ms. Haber recommends any edition of Eric Foner's Give Me Liberty. If students have a tablet with a PDF reader they can mark up with a stylus and email the instructor by August 23rd, they can have a PDF of the Sourcebook rather than paying for a paper copy. (The PDF will be available to all students.) We will watch the movie of the Raisin in the Sun; having a copy of the script will make writing about it much easier.

From Ms. Haber: "These Truths by Jill Lepore (ISBN: 9780393635249): Students in United States History since 1865, should supplement what we will be learning in this course with the first 300 pages Jill Lepore's sweeping history of the United States,These Truths, up to the Civil War (ISBN: 978-0-393-63524-9). Taking paper notes on a copy from the library or an e-book is just fine. It is very beneficial to use the book to begin a AP study guide for the spring.by using this extra-credit document to keep structured notes.

Students could also use the summer to prepare for the states quiz in September (filling out a blank map)."

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
These Truths	Jill Lepore	‎ 978-0393357424	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sourcebook	n/a	n/a	No	No	No
A Raisin in the Sun	Lorraine Hansberry	978-0679755333	No	Yes	Yes

MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY

From Ms. Budding: "Ian Davidson, Voltaire: a life: Voltaire was arguably the single most influential thinker of the Enlightenment. Although he lived out his life (1694-1778) under the monarchy, he was later claimed as a hero by the leaders of the French Revolution. As you read Davidson’s lively biography, first see what you can learn about the political and social realities of life under the old regime. For instance, how did authors make money? How did censorship work? How did French nobles conduct their extramarital affairs? Next, pay attention to the events that became part of the narrative of the Enlightenment. For instance, how and why did the trial of Jean Calas become notorious? Please read the Note to the Reader and Chapters 1-9, 12, 17, 22, 25-29, and 33. As you read, mark points that interest, puzzle, or surprise you. You will draw on this book for one of our early writing assignments. "

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Western Civilizations, 21st edition, Volume 2	Joshua Cole &	978-1324042600	No	Yes	Yes
A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (10th ed.)	Mary Lynn Rampolla	978-1319244415	No	Yes	No
Collins Atlas of 20th Century History	Richard Overy	9780060890728	No	Yes	No
Discovering the Western Past, Vol. II (7th ed.)	Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, et al.	9781111837174	No	No	No
Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?	James J. Sheehan	9780547086330	No	Yes	No
The Landscape of History	John Lewis Gaddis	9780195171570	No	Yes	No
Sourcebook	n/a	n/a	No	No	No
Voltaire: a life	Ian Davidson	9781605982878	Yes	Yes	No
Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine (revised and updated edition)	Anna Reid	978-1541603486	No	Yes	No
Why the Allies Won (30th Anniversary Edition)	Richard Overy	978-1324130789	No	No	No

Mesoamerica

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?	Notes
The Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya	Allen J. Christenson	9780806138398	No	Yes	No	University of Oklahoma Press
The Maya, 10th ed.	Michael Coe & Stephen Houston	978-0500295144	No	Yes	No	Thames and Hudson
Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens	Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube	978-0500287262	No	Yes	No	N/A
Mexico: from the Olmecs to the Aztecs, 8th ed.	Michael Coe, Javier Urcid, & Rex Koontz	978-0500841785	No	Yes	No	Thames and Hudson

BIBLE AS Bible / Bible as history

From Ms. Haber: "Genesis, translated by Robert Alter (ISBN: 978-0393316704). The summer reading includes a Genesis Guided Reading assignment that we’ll use in the first week of class. I recommend answering these question on the Google Doc as well as in your book. The brilliant writing in Genesis is compacted; read it slowly, letting the words melt in your mouth, not only to let the taste linger but to reveal all the varied flavors hidden there."

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Sourcebook	n/a	N/A	No	No	No
Genesis	Robert Alter, Translator	978-0393316704	Yes	No	No
Book of Job	Stephen Mitchell, translator	978-0060969592	No	No	No
The New Testament, a Translation	David Bentley Hart, Translator	978-0300265705	No	No	No

Languages

French

FRENCH 1

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Liaisons 3e: Printed Text, Loose-leaf Version	Wong et al.	978-0357034873	No	Yes	No

FRENCH 2

From Mr. Korta: "Any other books will be supplied in class."

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Contes	Charles Perrault	978-2011557438	Yes	No	No

FRENCH 3

From Mr. Korta: "Any other books will be supplied in class."

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Nouvelles du monde	Various	978-2278082551	Yes	No	No

FRENCH 4 CONVERSATION

From Mr. Dardonville: "Books supplied in class".

FRENCH 4 LITERATURE

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
L'estranger	Camus	978-2070360024	No	Yes	No

Latin

LATIN 1

Best to order from directly from Bolchazy Carducci. PLEASE be sure to get the correct edition (2nd ed.)

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Latin for the New Milennium (Student Text), Level 1, 2nd ed.	Milena Minkova, Terence Tunberg	978-0-86516-807-7	No	Yes	No

LATIN 2

Best to order from directly from Bolchazy Carducci. PLEASE be sure to get the correct edition (2nd ed.)

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Latin for the New Milennium (Student Text), Level 2, 2nd ed.	Milena Minkova, Terence Tunberg	978-0-86516-811-4	No	Yes	No

LATIN 3

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?	Notes
Pliny: 20 Letters and Suggested Companion Texts (forthcoming)	Jacquenline M. Carter	978-0-86516-885-5	No	No	No	Best to order from directly from Bolchazy Carducci
Vergil: Selections and Suggested Companion Texts (forthcoming)	Barbara Weiden Boyd	978-0-86516-890-9	No	No	No	Best to order directly from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
The Student's Catullus	Catullus	9780806142326	No	No	No	University of Oklahoma Press
The Bantam New College Latin and English Dictionary	John Traupman	978-0553590128	No	No	No	Any pocket dictionary is fine. In fact, Langenscheidt is best.

LATIN 4 / 5

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?	Notes
An Apuleius Reader: Selections from the Metamorphoses	Ellen D. Finkelpearl	978-0865167148	No	No	No	Best to order directly from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
A Livy Reader: Selections from Ab Urbe Condita	Mary Jaeger	978-0865166806	No	No	No	Best to order directly from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
Horace: Selected Odes and Satire 1.9	Ronnie Ancona	978-0865166080	No	No	No	Best to order directly from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Mandarin

MANDARIN 1

Teacher will provide photocopies of materials for students.

MANDARIN 3

Teacher will provide photocopies of materials for students.

MANDARIN 5

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
奇迹男孩(Wonder)	R.J. Palacio	978-7020145850	No	Yes	Yes

MANDARIN 6,7 & 8

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
窗边的小豆豆 (Doudou by Window)	Heiliu Chezi	9787544250580	No	Yes	Yes

Spanish

SPANISH 1

Purchase textbook from Vista Higher Learning.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Descubre, Level 1	N/A	978-1-54334-145-4	No	Yes	No

SPANISH 2

Purchase textbook from Vista Higher Learning.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Descubre, Level 2		978-1-54334-253-6	No	Yes	No

SPANISH 3

Sourcebook will be provided by instructor.

SPANISH 4 LITERATURE: De lo Real Maravilloso y lo Fantastico en la Literatura LatinoAmericana

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada	Gabriel Garcia Márquez	978-1400034956	No	No	No
Aura	Carlos Fuentes	‎ 978-6074451849	No	No	No
Ficciones	Jorge Luis Borges	978-0802130303	No	No	No
El Aleph	Jorge Luis Borges	978-0307950949	No	No	No

SPANISH 4 Conversation: Cinema & Social Change in the Spanish Speaking World

All materials provided by teacher.

Humanities

EDUCATION POLICY

No required books this year.

Economics

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Economics: Principles and Policy (14th ed.)	William J. Baumol & Alan S. Binder	978-1337696326	No	No	No
A Random Walk Down Wall Street (13th ed.)	Burton G. Malkiel	978-1324051138	No	No	No

U.S. Politics & Policy in the 21st Century

From Ms. Haber: "Tyranny of Merit by Michael J. Sandel (ISBN: 978-1250800060). Link to summer assignment. We’ll begin our study of recent politics and policy on a philosophical note: thinking about the ideas of meritocracy, desert, and the American Dream and other questions raised by Sandel's book. If you want a second eye-opening read, checkout Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic, which provides a useful window into how the Civil War was being understood in the 1990s. This book (which as you might guess merits a content warning of racism, sexism, and racial epithets) would flesh out some of the themes we’ll come to all fall—but is in no way required."

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Working Class White	Williams	978-1633693784	No	Yes	No
Tyranny of Merit	Sandel	978-1250800060	Yes	Yes	No
Stand out of our light	Williams	978-1108452991	No	Yes	No
Can democracy survive Global Capital	Kuttner	978-0393609936	No	Yes	No
Coddling of the American Mind	Lukianoff and Haidt	978-0735224919	No	Yes	No
When the Clock Stopped	Ganz	978-1250390417	No	Yes	No
There's No Place for Us	Goldstone	978-0593237168	No	Yes	No
The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century	Rosenblatt	978-0691203966	Yes	Yes	No

Science

Biology 1

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Biology: Concepts and Applications (10th ed.)	Cecie Starr	978-1337094825	No	Yes	No

Biology 2

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Campbell Biology (11th ed.)	Lisa Urry, et al.	978-0134093413	No	Yes	No

Chemistry 1

No required textbooks.

Chemistry 1 advanced

No required textbooks.

chemistry 2

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Chemistry (12th ed.)	Raymond Chang & Ken Goldsby	9780078021510	No	No	No
Student Solutions Manual for Chemistry	Raymond Chang & Ken Goldsby	9781259286223	No	No	No

physics 1

Summer work packet distributed by Ms. Moss.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Physics (12th ed.)	John D. Cutnell & Kenneth W. Johnson	978-1119773610	No	Yes	Yes

physics 1 accelerated

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Physics: Principles with Applications (7th ed.)	Douglas C. Giancoli	9780321625922	No	Yes	Yes

physics 1 advanced

Either an E-Book or a physical book works. The two books listed below have the same content but are in different forms (physical / digital).

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
University Physics, (15th ed.) - Paperback	Hugh D. Young & Roger A. Freedman	9789353949297	No	Yes	Yes
University Physics, (15th ed.) - eBook	Hugh D. Young & Roger A. Freedman	9780135159552	No	Yes	Yes

physics 2

Either an E-Book or a physical book works. The two books listed below have the same content but are in different forms (physical / digital).

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
University Physics, (15th ed.)	Hugh D. Young & Roger A. Freedman	9789353949297	No	Yes	Yes
University Physics, (15th ed.)	Hugh D. Young & Roger A. Freedman	9780135159552	No	Yes	Yes

Neuroscience

The textbook is OPTIONAL and NOT REQUIRED for class.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Optional Textbook: Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (Fourth Edition)	Mark F. Bear, Barry W. Connors, Michael A. Paradiso	978-0781778176	No	Yes	Yes

Astronomy

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
The Essential Cosmic Perspective (8th ed.)	Jeffrey O. Bennett, Megan O. Donahue, Nicholas Schneider & Mark Voit	9780134446431	No	Yes	Yes
Astronomy by OpenStax (2nd ed., electronic version)	Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison & Sidney Wolff	9781640323513	No	Yes	Yes

Mathematics

Geometry advanced

Book supplied by the school.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
A Course on Geometry: After Euclid and his Descendents	Farhad Riahi	n/a	No	Yes	No

GEOMETRY

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
A Course in Geometry: Plane and Solid	Arthur W. Weeks & Jackson B. Adkins	978-1881764069	No	Yes	No

INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Elementary and Intermediate Algebra (5th ed.)	Alan S. Tussy & R. David Gustafson	978-1111567682	No	Yes	Yes

ALGEBRA 2 / PRECALCULUS ADVANCED

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
College Algebra and Trigonometry: A Unit Circle Approach (6th ed.)	Mark Dugopolski	978-0321916525	No	Yes	No

ALGEBRA 2 / PRECALCULUS

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
College Algebra and Trigonometry: A Unit Circle Approach (6th ed.)	Mark Dugopolski	978-0321916525	No	Yes	No

CALCULUS 1 ADVANCED & ACcelerated

NOTE: Do not purchase instructor edition.

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals (6th ed.)	James Stewart	9780495011699	No	Yes	No

CALCULUS 2

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Student Solutions Manual for Single Variable Calculus	James Stewart	9781305272422	No	Yes	Yes
Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals (8th ed.)	James Stewart	9781305270336	No	Yes	Yes

MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Multivariable Calculus (7th ed.)	James Stewart	9780538497879	No	Yes	Yes

Theoretical CALCULUS

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Calculus (4th Ed.)	Spivak	9780136006138	No	Yes	Yes

Abstract Algebra

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Abstract Algebra 3rd Edition	I.N. Herstein	9780471368793	No	Yes	No

DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Book Title	Author	ISBN	Summer Reading?	Used OK?	eBook OK?
Elementary Differential Equations with Boundary Value Problems	Edwards and Penney	978-0136006138	No	Yes	Yes

Statistics For applied social choice

No required textbook.

Computer Science (ALL LEVELS)

No required textbook.

Title	Notes
Course packet	This course packet will be available at school on the first day of class.