2026–2027 Go Big Read
Custodians of Wonder
Ancient customs, profound traditions, and the last people keeping them alive
Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people preserving some of our most extraordinary cultural rites. From a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old soy sauce recipe to the last Inca bridge master who rebuilds a grass-woven bridge each year in the Peruvian highlands, Stein uncovers an almost lost world.
Custodians of Wonder tells the stories of the last custodians preserving age-old rites on the brink of disappearance.
About the Author
Eliot Stein
Eliot Stein is a journalist and editor at the BBC who has traveled the world to meet people preserving unique cultural traditions. His work highlights the last keepers of these practices—from bridge builders in Peru to families in India protecting generations of knowledge. Through their stories, he explores what happens when these traditions begin to disappear.
His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, WIRED, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and CNN. He often speaks about cultural traditions, ancient knowledge, and what we can still learn from them today.
The UW–Madison Community Read Program
Go Big Read
Go Big Read is the University of Wisconsin–Madison's community reading program. Each year, the chancellor selects a book for the campus and broader community to read and discuss together through events and shared learning.
Keynote Event
A night with Eliot Stein
Thursday, November 19, 2026
7:00-8:30pm
Varsity Hall, Union South