"Eric Kester has written the kind of book I wish I had the courage and insight to write. His illuminations on everything from Larry Summers to the Harvard football team to cheating, tourists, and competitiveness are dead–on. His writing has also provided me with some of the best laugh–out–loud moments I've had in recent years. God knows Harvard could use some humor!" —PETER OLSON, FORMER CEO OF RANDOM HOUSE, HARVARD GRADUATE, AND CURRENT HARVARD PROFESSOR One of the most thrilling and terrifying days of your life is the first day of college, when you step onto campus filled with the excitement of all the possibilities ahead—and panic about if you'll make it and how you'll fit in. Now imagine that same feeling, but you're in the middle of the lawn at the world's most prestigious university. In your underwear. Thus begins one of the craziest years ever at Harvard, in which Eric Kester finds himself in a cheating scheme, trying to join a prestigious Finals Club, and falling for a stunning type-A brunette...who happened to be standing there in shock that first day when he made his red-faced stroll across the Harvard Yard. That Book about Harvard is the hilarious and heartwarming story of trying to find your place in a new world, the unending quest to fit in, and how the moments that change your life often happen in the most unexpected ways. Eric Kester graduated from Harvard in 2008, where he wrote a popular column for the undergraduate newspaper, the Crimson. Now a featured writer for CollegeHumor.com, Eric has also contributed to the Boston Globe, someEcards.com, and Dorkly.com.

This book contains five parts, all relating to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From "The First Independent Thanksgiving" shows Harvard Square as the locus of the Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1774. to the original "History of Cambridge," first published in 1801, was written by the Rev. Abiel Holmes. Long used by Cambridge school children, that text is here illustrated for the first time. "Harvard Honors Nelson Mandela" portrays the outdoor celebration of 25,000 people when, for only the third time in its history, Harvard presented an honorary degree outside of its regular academic convocations. University photographers abundantly recorded the occasion. Finally, "Harvard Gallery of Photographs by Rick Stafford" consists of images of people in the Harvard Square environs illustrating diverse fields of learning and life.