In order for a community to be meaningful and vibrant there are certain contributions which have to be made. In The Hemmingway Book Club of Kosovo the students deliberately chose to make some of these contributions so as to give their community meaning and to make it more vibrant. Even though the desire was hindered in some cases by the hatred which was reignited by the war, the students generally did what was right in their home community.

A vibrant and meaningful community is not made by the surroundings or the amount of material goods the community possesses. A community achieves these aspirations by having a population where the people have certain characteristics which contribute to the community's well being and the well being of the other people within the community.

Not all of these characteristics are inborn, and some are very hard to pursue at times. There...