This book is extraordinary… Bok reveals himself as anything but an academic elitist. He shows a deep interest in the education of not only undergraduates and traditional graduate and professional students, but also ‘non-traditional’ students… He has obviously read much empirical research on teaching and learning… Higher Learning is a highly readable, often entertaining, and important book.—David S. Webster, Philadelphia Inquirer

I recommend this book to all who are interested in an informative analysis of American higher education.—Mark Oromaner, Wall Street Review of Books

The book is full of wisdom, based on broad experience and also upon substantial knowledge of research literature… Higher Learning was written well before the widely publicized criticism of Harvard and of higher education by the Secretary of Education. But it provides a comprehensive and thoughtful reply to those criticisms… [Bok] lays out a balanced assessment of the problems and achievements of American higher education… His is a strong case for the present excellence of American higher education and a challenge to strive for an ideal well beyond our present state.—Wilbert McKeachie, Change

In this readable assessment of contemporary American higher education, the president of Harvard comments on what is right and wrong with the teaching and learning processes at the major research universities. With refreshing frankness Bok raises a number of provocative topics, such as the double-edged sword of colleges’ competition for everything from athletics to government grants, and professional schools’ neglect of the teaching of ethics. Weighing the pros and cons of new trends such as life-long professional education and the computer revolution, Bok considers their long-range impact on tradition-bound institutions of higher learning. He is realistic about the many problems facing higher education, and optimistic about its future.—Patricia Smith Butcher, Library Journal