Book Reviews
University practices, innovations, and controversies make for great books. The following articles explore the latest in book-length higher-ed commentary, identifying what’s worth reading, what isn’t, and everything in between.
What Biology Can Teach Us About History
Stephen H. Balch’s Naturalizing History: A Biocultural Theory of Human Progress (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2026) is a grand synthesis of biology and history that articulates many of the concerns of…
The Need to Reclaim Liberal Education
Peter Berkowitz is one of those rare public intellectuals who doesn’t mind being on the “wrong” side of hot controversies—which is to say, he’s willing to clash with the “progressive”…
A Congresswoman Looks at the Disaster of Higher Education
Following the Hamas assault on Israel in October 2023, many American campuses erupted in turmoil—not due to the brutality of the attack, but in support of the Palestinian cause. In…
When Academics Deny Reality
You’ve no doubt heard the expression, “That’s an idea so ridiculous only an academic could believe it.” It kept coming to mind as I read Professor John Staddon’s new book…
New Book Encapsulates Higher Ed’s Problems
Suppose you have a friend who knows little about American higher education but is eager to learn about it. You might want to recommend to him a book that introduces…
Classical Education Needs a Better Defense
As a professor of the classical liberal arts, I began reading Bob Pepperman Taylor’s new book, Liberal Education and Democracy, with interest. Taylor, who teaches law and politics at the…
How Was the American Mind Poisoned?
In 1987, Allan Bloom warned about The Closing of the American Mind. In 2018, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff warned about The Coddling of the American Mind. And now Lawrence…
“Equality” Won’t Win Like This
I reveal here that I have finally read a likable DEI book, one that I found so because—beyond any doubt whatever—this book will infuriate the DEI faithful. Make no mistake,…
A Much-Needed Exposé of Academic Fraud
Should we trust the research published by professors? The scholars who write books and papers have impressive degrees and teach at respected universities, and their work has to undergo rigorous…
How English Departments Became Broken
If you really want to understand the horrors of war, don’t just read accounts written years after a battle, but instead read first-hand accounts by soldiers who were on the…