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Fareed Zakaria

In Defense of a Liberal Education Audio CD – CD, March 30, 2015

by Fareed Zakaria (Author, Reader)

516 ratings

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New York Times bestselling author of The Post-American World and host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS argues for a renewed commitment to the world’s most valuable educational traditions in this fascinating audiobook.

The liberal arts educational system is under attack. Governors in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina have announced that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts. Majors like English and History—which were once very popular and highly respected—are in steep decline and President Obama has recently advised students to keep in mind that technical training could be more valuable than a degree in art history, when deciding on an educational path.

In this timely and urgently needed audiobook Fareed Zakaria explains that this turn away from the liberal arts is a mistake. A liberal education provides the foundation for finding your voice, writing, speaking your mind, and ultimately, learning—all immensely valuable skills no matter your profession. Technology and globalization are making these skills even more valuable and necessary as routine mechanical and even computing tasks can be done by machines. More than just a path to a career, Zakaria argues that a liberal education is an exercise in freedom and above all, it feeds the most basic urge of the human spirit—to know.

Print length

3 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date

March 30, 2015
Dimensions

5.13 x 0.7 x 5.88 inches
ISBN-10

1442389761
ISBN-13

978-1442389762
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, bestselling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom, and a columnist for The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (March 30, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 3 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1442389761
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1442389762
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.7 x 5.88 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,164,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,343 in Political Commentary & Opinion
- #16,061 in Books on CD
- #17,453 in Political Ideologies & Doctrines (Books)

Customer Reviews:
516 ratings

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Fareed Zakaria

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Fareed Zakaria has been called "the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation" (Esquire). He is the Emmy-nominated host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, contributing editor for The Atlantic, a columnist for the Washington Post, and the best-selling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom. He lives in New York City.

Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		13%
3 star		8%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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P.W.A.

Great short read, but not 100% convincing

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2018

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Technically, I give this book a 3.5 score. I did like it and it was worth the time. It's well written and it's short. The case Zakaria argues is simple: is college worth it? For the most part, he has some good ideas and evidence of college grad value. However, it's just not quite enough to convince me that it should be held in such high esteem.

Don't get me wrong. I have two master degrees and I thought college was valuable. However, my student debt and current job would argue the opposite. We're all wondering about the true value of a 4-year degree given the non-stop tuition hikes and questionable job prospects post-graduation. If you had a child today, chances are by the time they're 18 you will be staring down $300,000+ in college tuition for a decent school. That's where tuition and the economy is going these days according to the experts. That's a lot of money to spend on a speculative future.
I think Zakaria's big task was to give solutions or options to make college a good choice. He needed to jump more into the intrinsic and extrinsic value. His quote about Jeff Bezos needing execs that can write well was a step towards this. People need to be T-shaped workers: a little width (broad knowledge of related subjects) and quite deep (narrow, specialized knowledge one masters in that field).

Elon Musk has a better answer. I know that personal accounts are hardly good evidence, but the man runs four history-making companies. There is some value in this. He writes:

“It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e., the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”

If liberal arts colleges and Zakaria expanded on that, I think a stronger argument for a liberal arts college could be made for both intrinsic and extrinsic value.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mark Oresic

‘In Defense of a Liberal Education’ - Fareed Zakaria

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2018

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“I hope that all of you who graduate today, and who experience the power of education in your own lives, will become advocates for the value of higher education in our society. There is a national conversation taking place right now about the value of higher education, and we need your voice in that conversation. We need you, in other words, to help others to achieve in the future what you achieve today.” - Christopher L. Eisgruber, President; Princeton University; Commencement Speech, June 2018.

In calling for advocates for the value of higher education, President Eisgruber, as well as all others so concerned, might well be pleased with Fareed Zakaria’s well thought out and articulated book, ‘In Defense of a Liberal Education’.

This insightful book, begins with the following quote:

“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.” - E. O. Wilson

… and, concludes with the following selected words from the author …

“Because of the times we live in, all of us, young and old, do not spend enough time and effort thinking about the meaning of life. We do not look inside of ourselves enough to understand our strengths and our weaknesses, and we do not look around enough - at the world, in history - to ask the deepest and broadest questions. The solution surely is that, even now, we could all use a little bit more of a liberal education.” - Fareed Zakaria

The main content of Mr. Zakaria’s excellent book, is clearly sandwiched between these two meaningful quotes, and I can assure you, that investing the time and effort requisite to find out what that content was - was clearly the privilege of this reader, and therefore, I highly recommend it!

8 people found this helpful

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James B.

If you want to learn what higher education is all about and why you might need it, this wonderfully written book has the answers

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2017

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This is a marvelous book. It clearly defines what a liberal education is, describes the history of universities through the ages, explains different models for running universities and other organizations of learning, and debunks urban myths about why, for example, Chinese students test two years ahead of their U.S. counterparts (it's because the go to school much more of the year than students do in the U.S., so that when this oft-cited) test is given, the Chinese students have literally been in school two years longer than US students of the same age!). The author also gives a very personal account of the experiences he and his brother has coming to US universities in the very early wave of Indian students who were middle class and had just been stripped of any chance to gain scholarships to study in England, the traditional destination for Indian scholars to pass through. Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, the brightest Indian minds came to the US, if not all of a sudden, quite soon. I cried when reading excerpts from the article written by the author's mother after dropping her older son off at Harvard. It made me think of my country as it was, a country that has been lost in the recent political upheavals and surging xenophobia. I hope we regain that place, that dignity, and I hope that the liberal education defended by Mr. Zakaria regains its proper respect because it trains people to think for themselves in a critical, data-driven manner, whether for self analysis or world analysis.

Thank you, also, Fareed Zakaria, for your defense also of young people today and your dismissal of the stereotypes so popular with old men, white and American or otherwise.

No, I am not my father and could never be him. However, I know that he would have loved your book also, being a physicist who grew up in the slums during the Great Depression, spoke many foreign languages, loved literature, the symphony, art and theater, and who traveled the world to work with scientists of many nations order to carry out his life's work.

13 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Tim Cork

A timely and perennial topic

Reviewed in Canada on December 1, 2020

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This topic has been a bone of contention for me since the time I had to choose a high school elective program - and as perennial as the classics. Very well written in contemporary language with excellent supportive material.

The author states, “I still sympathize with arguments in search of a core, but I have come to put a greater value than I once did on the openness inherent in liberal education—the ability for the mind to range widely and pursue interests freely.”

In my perfect world, strengthening character through the liberal arts would trump the conventional wisdom of specializing. Perhaps this is the best compromise though - a core program with a mandatory adjunct of liberal study’s.

I enjoyed and appreciate the author’s opinions expressed in his book.

Marian Atkinson

As a advocate that everyone going to University should have ...

Reviewed in Canada on November 10, 2016

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As a advocate that everyone going to University should have to first complete at least 2 years Liberal Arts prior to moving on to a Professional School, this book says it all. Unfortunately our universities are placing no emphasis on Arts whatsoever. Having worked in a university setting for practically my whole adult life, I find many of those who go into the Professional Schools, ie. Business, Engineering, etc. graduate with a very narrow focus, lacking critical thinking skills such as one acquires via Philosophy; very little knowledge of history; lacking writing skills -- all of which are extremely valuable no matter what your focus in the long-term. This books makes that point and more extremely well.

Durotolu Aro

or accounting degree gives a skill just like a sports camp

Reviewed in Canada on July 10, 2015

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This book made me realize that an engineering, law, medical, or accounting degree gives a skill just like a sports camp, modelling, or a craft school. Our ability to maximize these skills will be limited by how narrow our liberal education is. The best accountant, the most beautiful model or the most skilled Dr. will not be the most successful. The most successful will be the ones who in addition to the basic skills, know a bit of so many other fields.

saxonmiller

Fantastic all around.

Reviewed in Canada on July 14, 2015

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Purchased a paperback, and was sent a hardcover at no extra cost. Shipped within two days, and I have already finished reading the book. Fascinating read, and a fantastic short book that I recommend to anyone, especially those involved in academia.

Lise Talbot Bélair

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2016

Verified Purchase

Had the privilege of receiving a liberal education many years ago. I was really prepared to face the world.

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