This book really shaped my understanding of life. Idk. I guess the author wrote this after not getting tenure at Yale. Like 30% of Ivy League grads do business or economics. Such a disgrace.

As someone who can relate ro many aspects of this book, I don't really know if at any stage in my life anything I'm reading leaves me thinking "that's right", and propells me into action, versus "you're right", merely giving me the illusion I'm more enlightened when I haven't changed any aspect of my life.
Not to say the content was bad: It was a bit repetitive, but still an engaging read. (The last chapters criticizing all the elites was quite entertaining actually.) I think this kind of discussion needs to happen in the classroom with actions for accountability, and not in a book though, if anything the author wishes to change is going to.

I was dreading this book before I had even opened it; I was expecting another horribly boring slog that doesn't tell me anything new about the education system (see: How College Works). I couldn't have been more wrong! Deresiewicz slam-dunks every argument he makes about how f'ed up education is; both in higher education and in primary/secondary school. Every president, dean, admissions counselor, professor, and --most importantly--parent should have this book hand-delivered to their doorstep. Think about what you've done, America.

I want to give this book to every teen I know before they start looking at colleges, and every adult, period.

This book is great for articulating some of the issues with the higher education system and society at large but comes off as really angry. Parts II and III were especially annoying because of the incessant complaints of "what college ought to be" and reminiscing the "good old days" of education when it had a higher purpose