Tenured Radicals, Revised: How Politics has Corrupted our Higher Education (Paperback)

by Roger Kimball (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Citing examples of specialized constituencies using unconventional approaches to higher education, this controversial study argues that "yesterday's radical is today's tenured professor or academic dean." "To the debate awakened by Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind and E. D. Hirsch's Cultural Literacy , this sobering assessment is a pointed contribution," PW said.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
A bravado performance of critical journalism...vivid, amusing, dismaying. -- Robert Alter, Newsday

A stinging account...provokes constant reflection and occasional laughter.— -- Roger Shattuck, author of The Banquet Years

A withering critique. -- Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

All persons serious about education should see it. -- Allan Bloom, author of The Closing of the American Mind

Mr. Kimball names his enemies precisely...this book will breed fistfights. -- Roger Rosenblatt, New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher; Revised edition (May 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566631955
• ISBN-13: 978-1566631952
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #532,731 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What the Academy Dosen't Want You to Hear, November 28, 2000

By	Andrew Hanson (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

Roger Kimball's work is a refreshing look at the sad state of the Humanities today. Is the book rather one-sided in its views on the 'culture wars'? Yes, but then again one will not get much vigorous debate on the subject in most Humanities departments today-and this is exactly Mr. Kimball's point. Even putting aside the complete contempt for truth these scholars show, if this neglect and subversion of Humanities departments were simply an academic affair, perhaps Mr. Kimball would sound histrionic, but he clearly identifies the real victims-the students. Indeed, the book comes off at points almost conspiratorial, as Mr. Kimball implies that the failed radical fight these scholars fought while students is now being played out for the hearts and minds of contemporary students. Sadly, that argument is not without some merit. The adolescent postures of these scholars that are lauded as arguments by the so-called 'cultural Left' make amusing, if at times frustrating reading for those accustomed to the naive belief that the universities existed for higher learning in pursuit of such feeble contemporary notions such as truth. Mr. Kimball lances the proponents with their own words and ideas, not their backgrounds or politics, something his opponents should take note of.

40 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for tuition-paying parents..., October 27, 1998

By A Customer

When I read the first edition some years ago, when I was in college myself, I wanted to stand up and cheer. This book does an excellent job of exposing how the study of humanities has ceased to be an academic discipline, and more of an exercise in political posturing in Lit. and humanities departments across the nation. This book is also a wickedly funny skewering of all those in higher ed. who perceive their mission to be the indoctrination, rather than education, of today's college students. I see (sadly) that in the eight years since the publication of the 1'st edition, things have only gotten worse....

46 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An indispensible historical source., February 5, 1999

By	J.N. Frary ([e-mail]) (New Brunswick, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

When some future historian sits down to research his multivolume work on the history of human imbecility, he will discover the most interesting, exotic, and vivid forms of this vast enterprise in academia. And he will find Roger Kimball's turn-of-the-century researches on this subject to be an indispensible source. He will also find it a pleasure to read, which is unusual for a book which serves as a kind of catalogue of the the nasty, silly, and futile projects of the PostMod Academic. Mind you, Tenured Radicals is not for all contemporary readers. Many will experience its lucidity as a highly personal insult. Others will react to its wit with peevish resentment. Never mind. As the ancient Persian proverb tells us, "The dogs will bark but the caravan moves on."