Political Education Books

... for anyone who wishes to plant the seed of Democracy and ensure the security of our own.

Inspiring, funny, unbelievable, made me cry, and made me want to be a better person. I wish I could say something more to do justice to this incredible story. Tell all of your friends and READ THIS BOOK!!

This story, about a single person who made it possible to build dozens of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan for both boys and girls, provides a view into the people and culture of these two countries that is just so hard for Americans to get. If there is a better way for Americans to make the case for freedom, tolerance, and equality, peace, i certainly don't know what it could be.

Out of all the books I have read in my life so far this was the best. I have traveled the world in the past 5 years on mission's trips to help others. I must say this book has wanted to make me make a difference. I want to become a world changer because of it. Many times through out the book with the excellent writings of Relin and Mortenson I found myself standing and walking a side of Greg. I can't recommend this book enough. I have purchased many copies to give to friend's world wide. Please read it!!

Excellent book, highly impressed by Greg's efforts to educate girls in the part of the world, where even a local Pakistani would fear to start such a project. Greg certainly did a wonderful job of understanding and blending himself with the local people, inorder to fully understand poor village people's problems he related himself with the local people to an extent that, he could see their problem from their perspective. Mr.Relin has done justice in telling the story of Greg's epic journey. Two thumbs up highly recommended reading.

First of all, I realize this book is slightly dated, in that it was published 17 years ago. The unfortunate thing is that I don't believe much has changed since Kozol wrote it... if there have been major changes, he wouldn't have found it necessary to write his second book, Shame of the Nation, or continue to push for equal-opportunity education like he is still doing today. So, although this book was researched and written awhile ago, I do believe it is still relevant for discussion today.

This book is sad. Plain and simple, it made me very sad to read about the way these kids have to "learn" every single day. Children who live in poverty every single day of their lives, who struggle just to get a decent meal and a good night's sleep, who cannot count on safety, a clean environment, or even love from their families, should absolutely, 100% have one place they can call their sanctuary - their school. Unfortunately, this book showed that is simply not the case. Children who live in these horrifying conditions of dire poverty are going to "schools" (and I say that loosely because some of the schools Kozol describes simply are not places to learn) that are decrepit, dirty, disgusting, with not enough space, not enough teachers, not enough books, no computers, and sometimes not even enough working toilets. There isn't another way to describe this book other than horrifying. Pure and simple, we should not be allowing any child to spend a minute in these conditions, let alone every day for eight hours a day. This book is heartbreaking to read, but it needs to be read, because I truly do not think that conditions have changed since the book was published in 1991. This is something that, as a country, we need to improve, big time. Our future literally depends on it.

Kozol begins his book by writing about east St.Louis. Wikipedia writes about East St.Louis as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the nation. This is one of the poorest cities in America and of course the school system suffers. The school buildings are run down, bathrooms are broken, and the kids don't have textbooks to study from. The physics labs haven't had water for 25 years and the sports field is completely in ruins . A lot of industrial waste is dumped here from the chemical factories that have established themselves in these areas. Usually it happends by accident when trains with the stuff spills it out on the ground. Then an alarm sounds and people have to take cover. But the kids here suffer from lead poisoning, high asthma rates and other diseases that can be traced to the toxic elements that surround them. The neighbourhoods themselves are filled with 24 hour liquor stores, strip bars, gambling houses, and dealers roaming the streets at night. Its hard to think of a worse start for a kid.

He writes of another neighbourhood in Chicago, called North Lawndale. That was a vibrant community until the riots after Martin Luther Kings death when a lot of the businesses where destroyed. It never really recovered. Now the gangs have moved in and the industries have moved out. A pastor from the area says"kids like these will kill each other over nothing". Dr.Martin Luther King himself lived there but there is no memorial. Only an old truck stands at the spot where his house once was. The schools here are also in terrible condition. Out of a kindergarten class of 23 kids 14 will drop out. 4 at most will go to college. 1 of those 4 will graduate. Three of the twelve boys will have spent time in prison. A few teachers are great but mainly there is a shortage of teachers, leaving many classrooms without one. In fact these kids are economically getting much less than the kids are in the richer areas. Although many adults say that one should not tell these poor kids that because that would encourage "victim" thinking. Although I would feel like a victim if I was reading a textbook that said Nixon was president like some of these kids do! Top salary of a teacher in an underpriveledged innercity school is 40000 dollars a year whereas in a suburb up to 60000 dollars. About 2900 dollars is spent every year on a child in a poor neighbourhood whereas 7800 dollars is spent on a child in a rich one. There is a silent understanding amongst many corporations that the kids in the inner city schools are perfect for the bottom end jobs that they offer. They aren't expected to become doctors or lawyers. This has led to principles and teachers of these innercity schools in "framing their language carefully" when requesting grants or money from corporations to "train ghetto children to become good employees".

In the Bronx one school that is overpopulated is located in an old roller skating rink. It was made to fit 1000 people now there are 1550 people there. The interior is old and falling apart. Too many people crowd into small rooms and many of the windows are broken. There are hardly any computers and the school is surrounded by heavy traffic. In another Bronx school there is a gaping hole in a classroom floor, the blackboards are so cracked that students risk cutting themselves on them when writing, paint flakes off the wall and covers the floor, and when it rains theres a waterfall flowing down the six flights of stairs in the school. Out of 500 freshmen from one school 82 will go on to take the SAT. On the other hand a school in a well off district is close to a park with lots of flowers around it. 825 kids attend this school. Here the library contains 8000 books in contrast to the skating rink school library that contained 700 books.

Wan to understand why our education system is in the shape that it's in? READ THIS BOOK! Explains why lower income schools perform the way they do....must have for any educator's collective of continuing education books. Worth reading twice!!

Kozol's Savage Inequalities paints a frightening picture of urban schools in the United States. He describes schools that are overcrowded, dilapidated, and flooded with sewage. He asks why we allow our children to go to schools in conditions where none of us would choose to work. He deeply explores the issue of inequality in funding. While he does suggest equalizing funding, he is careful to mention that the problems facing schools are complex and require innovative solutions. I know many teachers have read this book, but we need policymakers and elected officials to read it as well.

I needed this book for a class I was taking. WOW!, it was a real eye-opener. As it was really hard to read because it is sad. How amazing that there are schools here in the United States that are in dire need. I would reccomend it, but be prepared to cry.

I read this book to do a critical analysis test in my Gender and Politics course. I went in to Barnes & Noble with a list of possible selections, and I just bought the first book I came across. Oops.

From the first sentence of the first chapter, in which she boastfully restates her own definition of feminism from a previous book, this book drips with pretension and self-importance. She never fails to mention moments in her own past when she felt slighted, or allude to her opinions in past books and cite them as facts now. Throughout the book, the author uses terms such as "we" or "us" when referring to feminists, rather than writing objectively about feminist goals.

The quality of the writing is pretty poor, as well. She often switches between the present and preterit, making her already-meandering flow of biases even more difficult to follow. She refers not to "the feminist movement," but to "feminist movement," as if it was singular, not a series of separate and independent movements. However, she doesn't capitalize it like the proper noun it apparently is, as if to say that "feminist movement" is almost as cool as her since she doesn't capitalize her name, but not quite. She starts sentences with "and," while leaving commas out between quotations.

Maybe her ability was "constantly questioned" at Stanford because of her absurd love of alliteration in prose. Phrases like, "... particularly previously disenfranchised privileged ...," and, "... critical consciousness must be continuous," made me sick. It's like she feels that nobody will pay attention if she speaks like a normal human being.

The entire book seemed to me like she was saying, "I know more about feminism than you because I know more about feminism than you." Her so-called "facts" are often without sources; or if there are sources cited, they are usually personal anecdotes or allusions to her previous books. Does she really believe that saying something twice makes it truer?

The author also assumes that, apparently, as a reader, I'm too stupid to understand something that's obvious unless she herself tells me that it is clear. I really can't believe that such a magnitude of snobbishness, arrogance and self-absorption is healthy.

Summarily, Feminism is for Everybody is easily the worst book I have read in a long, long time. It's no surprise that "disappointing" is one of the suggested tags for this book.

Bell Hook's book is a poor attempt to try and pass her opinion as fact. She tries to make the case that feminism is for everyone by stating broad generalities that are not backed up by any form of statistics or research. Also, there are many typo errors throughout the book that is just unprofessional. Her book is more of a gripe against white men, her current view of feminism, and the glorification of the working class rather than actually explaining what feminism is about. I would not recomend her book to anyone because she poorly attempts to pass her opinion as fact. Ms. Hooks should seriously reconsider how she deveolps her arguments and doing some research on her broad generalizing statements before she publishes her next book.

Im a young feminist and I adore bell hooks. Before reading hooks I was only familiar with one opinion of feminism: the white, upper-middle class, waspy side. Im totally digging reading another side of the story. Hooks' language is accessible but her ideas are complex. She tackles topics that I other authors overlook. By not limiting the scope of the discussion to body image, rape, and compulsory pregnancy, hooks starts a whole new conversation. The intersection of class, race, and gender has never been dissected more beautifully. Love it.

Feminism is for Everybody represents HOPE: hope for a better future for women and men alike. It provides great insight on the meaning of radical, visionary feminism and a concise history of it, without overburdening the reader in any sort of heavy-handed academic tone.

This handbook was an eye-opener for me because I was not aware of how many women--not just men, have also contributed to the continuation of sexist thinking and actions. I was also surprised to learn how some women have created obstacles towards the goal of gender equality by stubbornly clinging to racial or homophophic thinking. It is quite a humbling thought to know that I have been guilty of some of the thinking she described, and which she described as having divided women amongst themselves.

What I liked best is how hooks provided a definition of feminism clearly and simply:

Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexual exploitation, and oppression.

I LOVE that! That definition gets right to the point. As I am growing more deeply passionate about women's issues with time, bell hooks' primer gave me a good introduction to what radical, visionary feminism means; she inspired me to want to share with others the importance that feminism has upon society, and that it IS indeed, for EVERYBODY.

I did find it to be somewhat wordy, and there were some spelling errors. Though this aspect was sometimes distracting to the flow of reading, it's quite minor in the whole picture. It is a good reference tool to return to in the future, and I will recommend it to anyone wanting to familiarize herself or himself to what feminism means.

When I read a synopsis of this book, I was optimistic. As Hooks states in the introduction, a book of this sort is exactly what feminists need:a basic and gentle primer for people who don't understand what feminism is all about and may have misguided perceptions. But from the beginning, the author goes astray of her goal. She opens with very strong (albeit accurate) language that will surely alienate people not yet even convinced that inequality is still a problem. For example, page 3 states, "Men as a group have and do benefit the most from patriarchy, from the assumption that they are superior to females and should rule over us." -Most men I know would read this and feel affirmed in the belief that feminists are extremists judging them simply for being men, and see little need to read further. In fact almost every section has viewpoints that are rather radical and would send newbies running. The Feminist Parenting section starts with, "Feminist movement was the first movement for social justice in this society to call attention to the fact that ours is a culture that does not love children, that continues to see children as property of parents to do with as they will."
If Hooks really wanted to write a book that was palatable for newcomers, she could have started by pointing out simple, unarguable examples of sexism in our everyday lives to show that it is still a problem and is more prevalent than people think. But the more the reader continues, the more one is confused about the goals of this book. Instead of educating readers as to what feminim is all about she fills the pages with her own gripes about the feminist movement and how it went astray from the beginning. Over and over she reiterates how "white power reformist feminism enabled the mainstream white supremacist patriarchy to bolster its power while simultaneousely undermining the radical politics of feminism"
Eventually one realizes that this book is more of a call for a new and improved feminist movement that is informed by the mistakes and misdirections of the past. She makes some excellent points, but her approach and language will only alienate the readers she says she is addressing.

This book is a very dense read, but it was required for my EDF 475 class... so I needed nonetheless. Once you get past the way the text is written, it's really not so bad.

This book helped me learn a little more about American Education and some of its "ins and outs".
I was surprised by the things I thought were true that were not. It is a great book for a student of Education (graduate students usually are required to read it at some point)

Very useful text for my graduate level course. Up-to-date information throughout the book, as well as historical aspects of education.

This book is a private college text, shared with the whole family, in addition to its use in the classroom. With the exception of some odd attributions to working class people (who are said to "act powerless" and view attempts at negotiations by children as 'sassing' or 'talking back'), possibly a misinterpretation of Annette Lareau's words, this working class family has enjoyed the book tremendously. The book offers the depth of insight necessary to anyone who teaches now or is planning on going into teaching.

This is a pretty good book for what its worth. I needed it for a class so its not like I had a choice to buy it. The writer has some interesting takes on things and I dont agree with everything he says. He does use a lot of charts and statistics which is helpful at times and other times just gets to be annoying. I like the book because it is not hard to understand and most of the time the writers writing flows pretty well.

The details from the publisher appropriately say "general review" because it is SO general. The details of US government that you really need for this test are absent from the review (come on, it's an AP test, they're looking for college-level understanding) and the review questions at the end of each chapter and the practice tests are completely based on almost word for word the book material and were so much weirder/harder than the actual test. I don't think this book helped me at all for the test, and unfortunately I had to buy it for class anyway or I never would've wasted my money.

I think if you want a 3 on the test- review only with this book. If you want a 4/5 use your textbook extensively (like I did) or get a much better book.

If you're new to the field then Program Evaluation provides a framework which makes sense of the various approaches. The authors have an easy style, sparing the reader from unnecessary jargon where they can. The introductory chapters provide a brief philosophical and ideological background to alternative approaches to evaluation. I came across this text during an introductory course in Instructional Design so it helped to place evaluation with what I had already covered on learning theory.

I received my book quickly and its condition was exactly as described - even better. I am extremely pleased with both Amazon's service and their products. Thank you for an excellent customer experience.

This book was easy to read and gave excellent examples and case studies. it was short and to the point and didn't drag on an idea. It was also informative in that it gave you when it was the author's bias or actual studied facts.

This book is used as a text book in my graduate class on evaluation in Instructional Technology. The book is clear, easy to understand, thorough and a good "primer" on evaluation.

This text surveys evaluation theory and practice in a manner that is easy to understand and teach. It's appropriate for undergraduate or graduate work in performance evaluation. The authors do an excellent job of reviewing the history and key literature. They also briefly explain popular methodologies and discuss different approaches, such as objective and holistic. The book includes case study material that highlights processes, advantages, drawbacks, and potential problems of evaluation efforts. The authors avoid consulting hype and focus on building the evaluation body of knowledge. An update with Fitzpatrick listed as the first author is now available and also is excellent.

Unfortunately this book which I hoped to be a biographical "chapter 2" to his personal journey after his Viet Nam stint, as covered so well in "Faith of My Fathers," this book offers only a sloppy mish-mash of this and that, which causes it to never commit to be any specific type of book. It tries to be part "Profiles in Courage" (which later McCain books "Courage Matters," and "Hard Call" commit to), part "Leaders" (by Nixon), and part autobiography, but sits as an uncommitted, uneven, unsatisfactory read. On paper this might have been a good idea - to tell one's story by also talking about that person's heroes, but in this work all these different types of works get in the way of each other. There is a chapter that goes on ad nauseum about the Keating scandal to be followed up on a piece of fluff over Ted Williams the baseball player.
This is also probably not the bio that his supporters want us to read during this 2008 election as almost each and every "hero" of his...including his contemporaries...are all dead, which highlights the age issue. I have yet to find a classic bio on this man, but I understand they are out there; unfortunately this book sadly misses its mark.

This is a great book by a great man. John McCain's humor, style, and love of life are inspiring in this read. His honor, patriotism, and his words of those who have inspired him, make him one of the most inspiring public figures of his generation. He has a loving awe of what is best in America, and in ourselves.

When the 2008 GOP primary began, I was not a fan of McCain. I didn't dislike him. I just had a different preference. I'd always wanted to read Faith of My Fathers and read that one first. It took the reader from McCain's grandfather, to his father, and finally to McCain himself and his experience in Vietnam, where it concluded with his homecoming.

This book picks up with John McCain's return home. He is atypically candid for a politician and presidential candidate. He admits faults where necessary. He takes responsibility when demanded. He defers credit where due. He takes the reader into his personal struggles, in particular the Keating 5 affair. He touches on his failed first marriage -- and takes full responsibility. The reader has the privilege of being a "fly on the wall" as McCain learns from his mentors and teachers. I can't imagine an author being much more transparent. The reader does not come away with a messianic vision of John McCain. Rather, one develops an understanding of whom he is and what influenced him. There is also much history to be learned as he explains how historical figures have influenced him in his career. I was a bit surprised by the profanity used in the book, but it's a part of who he is -- part sailor, part rebel, part patriot, part leader, part humble student, part aspiring executive, part competitor -- and full time, 100% himself.

If you have an interest in politics and/or history, and want a better understanding of who this potential President of the United States is and may be as president then this is THE book. Straight from his own mouth -- warts and all -- leaving it to the reader to make their own educated decision regarding McCain's worthiness for the most powerful job in the world. You may not finish the book as a supporter -- and you may go from pro to con -- but you will have a greater respect for the man.

Highly recommended.

"Worth The Fighting For" is John McCain's political biography. In it he briefly discusses his naval heritage and the acquaintances he made through his father, an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He mentions his time as a POW, but most of the references to his naval career involve his service as the naval representative to the U.S. Senate.

McCain does a good job at weaving tales about his heroes into his own story. Generally the book involves a section about a friend whom he admired or an historical figure on whose example he modeled his life, alternating with sections pertaining to political challenges which he has faced. Among the friends whom he discusses are Scoop Jackson, John Tower, Moe Udall, Barry Goldwater and Ted Williams. Among the historical figures he emulates are Billie Mitchell and Theodore Roosevelt and a character in the movie "Zapata."

In the sections relating to his career, McCain talks about issues with which he has struggled, including the Senate Select Committee on POW-MIAs. There he became a friend and admirer of John Kerry, with whom he worked to clear the record on missing POW-MIAs and to normalize relations with Vietnam. Perhaps this was the origin of the proposed Kerry-McCain ticket. He also defended his positions on Social Security, Campaign Finance reform and the Marine deployment to Lebanon. The insight into his 2000 presidential campaign makes for interesting reading.

McCain does not shirk the hard times, providing detailed explanations of the John Tower confirmation hearings and his own involvement in the Keating 5 investigation.

McCain does not mince words in expressing his opinions on people with whom he comes in contact, be they other Senators, witnesses or lobbyists. He is open in discussing his own failings. In this he demonstrates a refreshing approach rarely seen in autobiographies.

Through much of this work, McCain is defending and explaining his own actions. At times he seems to be more overtly self defensive than is found in many autobiographies. Is this a continuation of the "Straight Talk Express" on which he campaigned, or just another campaign biography? I will let each reader decide that for himself. I will say that it makes an interesting read of a type rarely found from active politicians. I am glad that I picked it up. I am confident that you will also.

Several times in "Worth the Fighting For", the senator notes that he has a quick temper. It is an inspiring book, however, I do wonder how effective he would be in the White House given his self acknowledged temper.

Author of: Mr. NewHeart (New Heart): Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond

You may preview a free copy of my next book if you Google "david hollar the face of war."

Walter Williams devotes his whole column this week to a positive review of John Lott's book:

By taking a couple of courses in economic theory, we could immunize ourselves from nonsense spouted by politicians and pundits, but in the meantime check out Professor John R. Lott's "Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works."

His first chapter is "Are You Being Ripped Off?" It addresses myths about predation where it's sometimes alleged that corporations will charge below-cost prices to bankrupt their rivals and then charge unconscionable prices. There's little or no evidence that corporations would choose predation as strategy; there are too many pitfalls. A major one is that in order to recoup losses from charging low prices to bankrupt rivals, the predator would later have to charge higher-than-normal prices. That would attract new rivals who might have purchased the bankrupt assets of the predator's prey and be able to undercut the predator's prices.

A far more successful means to monopoly wealth is for businesses to enlist the aid of congressmen to form a collusion. Classic examples are the dairy industry, which uses the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Federal Milk Marketing Orders to set statutory minimum prices, or the Gasoline Retailers Association using state law to do the same or the sugar industry using Congress to establish quotas on foreign sugar imports.

Professor Lott's chapter "Government as Nirvana" highlights examples of government predation. When the U.S. Postal Service raised the price of first-class mail in 1999, it reduced its price for domestic overnight express mail from $15 to $13.70, even though it was losing money at $15. The Postal Service was facing stiff competition from FedEx and UPS overnight services and wanted to keep its market share.

During the 1980s, private meteorology firms saw a chance to make money by selling television stations specialized forecasts that weren't provided by the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service started providing television stations the same services for free, thus driving private forecasting companies out of business.

Predation is observed in higher education. UCLA is both Lott's and my alma mater. It spends $40,000 per student but charges $6,522 tuition for in-state students. Such below-cost pricing gives public universities a significant competitive advantage over private universities. State universities have acquired many formerly private universities after driving, or threatening to drive, them out of business. Lott gives examples of George Mason University School of Law, University of Buffalo, University of Houston and University of Pittsburgh. In the case of University of Buffalo, the State University of New York reportedly threatened to open a public university across the street unless the University of Buffalo joined the state system.

The U.S. Department of Justice would go after a private business using similar predatory practices of intimidating its rivals and selling goods and services below cost. The U.S. Department of Commerce sanctions foreign companies accused of selling goods in the U.S. below cost with anti-dumping duties. If selling goods below cost is seen as unfair in the international arena, why is it not when it's done by government entities?

Lott's "Crime and Punishment" chapter has a lot of interesting tidbits. It starts off stating a fundamental principle of economics: the higher the cost of something, the less people will do of it. To demonstrate the generality of this principle, Lott says that when the number of referees were increased from two to three in the Atlantic Coast Basketball Conference, fouls fell by 34 percent; fouling became more costly. The American League has more hit batsmen than the National League, but the difference only appeared after 1973 when the American League removed its pitchers from the batting lineup in favor of designated hitters. Not being afraid of being hit themselves, American League pitchers threw more bean balls; bean balls became cheaper. The same principle applies to the U.S. crime rate that fell after the death penalty was reinstated, more prisons were built and concealed-weapon carry laws were enacted. The higher the cost of a crime, the less people will do of it.

[...]

When I first picked this book up, it was just because I liked John Lott. I did not realize that, in a way, it is is a response to Freakanomics. Freedomnomics is great! Lott makes some great points and has the data to back it up. It's not hard to read either. I finished it in a few days, and I'm normally a fairly slow reader.

I'm all for countering claptrap like "Freakonomics" and I'm sure it's of value that economists take on arcane social issues with arcane data from arcane studies, but one grows weary of seeing the world through the lens of economics, which after all does not, despite the beliefs of some economists, encompass all of life. This book, like so many of its genre, makes the eyes glaze over, as it hammers on the obvious. In contrast to Freakonomics, this book doesn't attempt to impress with cleverness, which is a virtue, but since when does economics become the science of how policemen are selected and assigned to beats? Please go back to monetary and fiscal policy and the virtues of free trade. No one who is not an economist is going to think like an economist or arrive at a framework of action that satisfies an economist. This fact is what gives rise to books like this one in which, despite claims to objectivity, the ideology of the author precedes any analytical approach.

Factual evidence and complete rational analysis is a welcome change to the liberal agenda of main stream media.

One thing I like about Prof. Lott is that he does not try and be funny. I've read other books by economists and they try to be cute or witty or funny, but jokes usually fall flat.
Prof. Lott sticks to the facts and draws conclusions, and I appreciate that.

The book essentially covers similar topics that were covered in my adult education issues class such as: academic freedom; issues facing higher education in the twenty-first century; the states and federal government and higher education; external factors and their impact; students, colleges and society's interconnectivity; financing higher education; technology and higher education; graduate education and research; and multiculturalism.
The chapter entitled, "Technology and Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges for the New Era," (P. J. Gumport & M. Chun, 1999), offered a cautious, uncertain view of the future of technology in higher education. Certainly, technology has had an impact already in higher education as a "tool" or delivery mechanism. The social organization and nature of teaching and learning as a profession had certainly been affected by changes in technology. One of the most visible changes has been witnessed in virtual higher education. No longer is distance a hindrance in obtaining a college degree.
The authors' stress that the only prediction that can be confidently made about technology is that is will have an impact on higher education and it will be far-reaching. No single answer is available as many uncontrollable external factors such as societal forces will affect the technological futuristic outcome.
The basic structure of the book was in four parts: "the setting" which covered the dimensions of change in higher education; "external forces" which shape and control higher educational institutions; "the academic community" discusses the profession's changes and stresses; and "central issues for the twenty-first century." Each of the four sections of the book contains several chapters which discusses each general topic with different flavors of expertise.
I believe the editors were successful in their attempt to organize the information and chapters in such a way as to delineate key issues affecting American higher education in the twenty-first century. Each chapter provided a clear and concise representation of the topics listed.
This book was an easy read for students who wish to find out more about particular topics without reading a whole book on each individual subject. The editors selected pertinent topics to higher education that could be read quickly to grasp the general concepts. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on technology and the potential implications for education. I've already witnessed significant change in this area as what was business education, i.e., typing and shorthand has already evolved into the computer applications area. It will be fascinating to see what's ahead on the horizon.

I had to read this for a class, and as text books go, this is a good one. Covered all the major topics involved in higher ed. Easy to read.

Book Review
With the huge technological and societal changes that higher education face today, it seemed a natural choice to review American Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century: Social, Political and Economic Challenges. This book was edited by Philip G. Altbach, Robert O. Berdahl, and Patricia J. Gumport. It was copyrighted in 1999 by The Johns Hopkins University Press from Baltimore, MD. Each chapter is authored by a subject matter expert such as Roger Geiger, TR Mc Connell and Ami Zusman to name a few.
Summary of Contents
American Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century. Social, Political and Economic Challenges addresses key issues facing and testing higher education institutions now and in the future. It explores the impact society has on technology which causes a domino effect touching on political and educational challenges. These challenges promise to be stronger than any issues faced in the history of education. This includes many contributors to the educational process including the new breed of student.
"The student role within American higher education and society is a complex and requires a new epistemology, or way of thinking about that role, which enhances our understanding" (Altbach, Berdahl, and Gumport, 1999). The book goes on to note the importance of understanding the roles and relationship between students, educational institutions, and today's society. Naturally, this ultimately drives the direction and future goals of higher education.
Other entities such as the federal and state governments and business partners will also play a role in determining needs that will drive the direction higher education will take in the future.
These issues, along with a myriad of other areas, promise higher education an interesting and rather demanding and rigorous future.
Organizational Structure
This book was very well organized which supported easy understanding and a solid learning experience. It was broken into four parts, which included:
· Part 1, The Setting: This section discussed background and support information for higher education including a look at the structure, history and key issues facing higher education today.
· Part 2, External Forces: Support partners in higher education are examined in this section. These partners include entities such as the federal government, individual states, legal forces and external business partners.
· Part 3, The Academic Community: Controversial and timely issues are discussed in this section including the challenge of colleges building connects within the communities they support.
· Part 4, Central Issues for the Twenty-first Century: This section discussed some of the hottest topics faced by colleges today including funding, technology, and diversity.
The breakout of these sections clearly helped the reader easily realize some of the most important areas that we need to focus on being associated with higher education now and how society and technology takes us into the future. This is especially important since today's educational setting challenging the traditional settings and looking to enrich and enhance them. In addition, these sections help us to understand the importance of extending the boundaries of teaching (i.e. from the traditional classroom to new technology settings.)
Personal Reaction and Evaluation
"If a college or university is effectively to define its goals and select or invent the means of attaining them, it must have a high degree of substantive autonomy" (Altbach, Berdahl, and Gumport, 1999). This book raised a number of very important viewpoints and issues that higher education face in the future. In order to successfully meet the needs of society, I believe one of the most important points that the book makes is the vital importance of universities maintaining autonomy. Higher education needs to be able to move forward in offering programs that meet the knowledge gaps and educational demands that a rapidly changing technological society promises to offer in the future. Higher education must be able to turn on a dime in order to support this challenge. In this, as well as other avenues, this book was able to bring across, in my opinion, the "must-dos" for higher education in the future. The authors identify "change" as the most complex "must-do." However, it is also the most challenging and, according to the authors dependent on society and technology advances.
Conclusion
In summary, American Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century. Social, Political and Economical Challenges is an excellent source for educators in determining the direction to set in the future. It helped me to identify goals that must be achieved and areas that must be recognized as challenges face us now and for coming generations of students.

References
Altbach, Philip G., Berdahl, Robert O., and Gumport, (1999). American Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century. Social, Political, and Economic Challenges. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Bloom makes a compelling case for embracing, through study, Western Civilization in general, and the Great Books in particular. He also does a good job of showing how today's universities exalt the natural sciences - which address only the material aspect of existence - while neglecting, to man's and society's peril, the social sciences and humanities, which speak to the immaterial aspects of existence.

In the course of making his case Bloom refers to Moses as a myth, or if not the man Moses, then certainly the story of him securing the 10 commandments from Mt. Sinai. At the same time Bloom acknowledges the great contribution of Moses, likening it to those contributions made my Aristotle, Socrates, or Shakespere.

Now, this is interesting logic for such an exalted intellectual as Bloom. He liken Moses to Aristotle, Socrates, and Shakespere but seems untroubled by the fact that one of them - Moses - claimed to receive what he passed down to humanity directly from God, even in face to face interaction. Neither Aristotle, Socrates or Shakespere made any such claim. If they had, wouldn't that change Bloom's opinion of those men - probably for the worse? Truth and deception have nothing in common. How would it be possible for a pathological liar to also provide man with some of the greatest moral truths ever known: "Thou shalt not steal"; "Thou shalt not murder"; "Thou shalt not bear false testimony"? How could a man who could speak this last mentioned commandment, at the same time be so out of touch with reality that he would state that he got the commandments from God? Even if it were possible that such a blend of truth and lies could reside with a man, why would Bloom venerate him?

Furthermore, Bloom convieniently shies away from calling the person, Jesus of Nazareth, a myth (a much harder case to make, even for natural sciences), and Bloom makes no attempt to account for the new paradigm erected by Jesus, especially at the Sermon-on-the-Mount. If Moses' apparently invented moral laws seem noble, if not mythically quaint, to Bloom, if Bloom were alive today would he be prepared to say the same things about Jesus's utterances in the Sermon-on-the-Mount?

Which of the following are quaint mythical statements, as likely fabricated by the mind of man as by God?

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. "

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Here again, we have the problem? If Jesus did say those things, so full of truth, how could he also tell the Samaritan women at the well:

"I who speak to you am he." (John 4:26)

after she made mention of the Messiah, if it were not true?

It is sad to see how intransigence toward the God of the Bible can make a muddle out of intellectual acumen.

This book was suggested for me to read by a friend. It was a cumbersome read about 400 some odd pages and I knocked it out in a few weeks.

Harold Bloom goes to great lengths salivating over the works of brilliant thinkers of the past. Ancient Philosophers such as Socrates 399BC, Plato 347 BC, Aristotle 332 BC and Cicero 43 BC are referenced often. More modern thinkers, philosophers and writers such as Machiavelli, 1527 AD, Descartes 1650 AD, Locke 1704 AD, Goethe 1832 AD, Nietzsche 1900 AD, are also sited often as well.

Bloom comes across as a conflicted agnostic, not wanting to embrace the ideal of intrinsic value in human beings, but not totally dismissing the ideal either. He plays it safe, acknowledging that human beings may have a soul, but stops there by making no conclusions, because in the end he really can't.

He wants excellence back in college education but offers no real remedy to get there; he only laments the ill effects of post modernism, nihilism and other soul less characteristics of present day academia. Bloom seems to have great compunction for having no solutions within his grasp. He elucidates nothing in his 400 pages; he almost like a professor who loves to hear himself speak, (think Ben Stine character in Ferris Bueller movie), but much more of an self ennobling, aristocratic, intellectual with a splendid command of the English language. Bloom has an impious, intransigent view for the believers in Deity, which I think leaves him coming up short in all his postulations. He is masterful at polemics and seems to find vigor and great joy in ruffling feathers. In the end a call to action or a conclusion to all the problems Bloom raises is untenable. It seems that he trusts in the opinions of the finite, i.e.-men, philosophers of the world, when truth is eternal and springs from our Creator, which he is loathe to approach......much less acknowledge.

In conclusion the best and most telling quote found very early in the book is here:

"I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing."
Socrates

And this quote is what Blooms seems to hang his hat on, gaining his readers nothing.

Wordy, harsh with limited acceptance for growing history. Book arrived in excellent shape and in a timely manner

Philosopher Allan Bloom's groundbreaking book, "The Closing of the American Mind," skillfully describes what has gone wrong with the university. Stuck in relativism and leaving behind the great thinkers of the past, the modern university has drifted from any sort of moorings and is in the process of decomposition. I most enjoyed the first section of the book. The second half of the book is more dense and a knowledge of Plato, Nietzsche, Hegel, Rousseau, Heidegger, etc., is recommended for a full comprehension of the subject. The argument in this book is still very timely even though it is over 20 years old.

I read this book in my final year of grad school in geology. It explained most reasons for my intellectual and ethical frustration with my entire college experience, in which I had found the academic system to be shockingly and willfully ignorant, totalitarian-restrictive, and corrupt.

My college experience was 20% Milovan Djilas, 80% Allan Bloom, capped by a thesis defense out of Martin Luther, all in William Burroughs' unconstituted police state.

This book is essential reading for any student who doesn't want his mind destroyed. I am eternally grateful to Allan Bloom for writing it.