Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Impostors in the Temple, a hard-hitting, eye-opening book about the intellectual and moral decay of American universities and colleges, has been updated and expanded in this new paperback edition from the Hoover Institution Press. Martin Anderson - a former White House policy adviser to Presidents Nixon and Reagan and a member of the academic world for more than three decades - takes U.S. academics to task in this powerful book, which has been hailed for its scope and clarity. Topics include the corrupt practices now rampant in our universities: how professors have abandoned the classroom, turning over much of their teaching responsibilities to unqualified students, and how intellectual standards, in both grading and research, have sunk to new lows. Anderson offers a bold blueprint for restoring the intellectual integrity of American universities, one that would allow them to achieve the greatness they are capable of. He concludes on an optimistic note, pointing out that many of our elite universities have recognized the seriousness of the intellectual declines that took place during the 1970s and 1980s and are beginning, quietly and slowly, to clean their academic houses.Synopsis
Impostors in the Temple, a hard-hitting, eye-opening book about the intellectual and moral decay of American universities and colleges, has been updated and expanded in this new paperback edition from the Hoover Institution Press. Martin Anderson - a former White House policy adviser to Presidents Nixon and Reagan and a member of the academic world for more than three decades - takes U.S. academics to task in this powerful book, which has been hailed for its scope and clarity. Topics include the corrupt practices now rampant in our universities: how professors have abandoned the classroom, turning over much of their teaching responsibilities to unqualified students, and how intellectual standards, in both grading and research, have sunk to new lows. Anderson offers a bold blueprint for restoring the intellectual integrity of American universities, one that would allow them to achieve the greatness they are capable of. He concludes on an optimistic note, pointing out that many of our elite universities have recognized the seriousness of the intellectual declines that took place during the 1970s and 1980s and are beginning, quietly and slowly, to clean their academic houses.
Publishers Weekly
Although he seems to be afflicted with a chronic sneer and often sounds as if he is addressing high school students, Anderson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, scores points as he takes on the administrations of American universities. He implies that there is a conspiracy afoot amongst faculty and trustees to grab power, prestige and tax dollars. His discussion is interesting and convincing when he talks about how many professors scorn teaching and pass on the responsibility to their graduate students, as well as making them do uncredited research. He also sensibly calls for shortening the time students take to earn Ph.Ds. For readers who want to take a position on higher education, Anderson provides the names and phone numbers of the governing board members of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford and six other universities. Conservative Book Club main selection. (Aug.)