Another for the LOVESalem Bookclub

In this unique and insightful book Schlesinger analyzes the cultural forces that urge us to avoid critical thinking and independent analysis.  The media reduces politics to a spectator sport, standardized tests teach students to fill in the dots instead of opening their minds, and even the Internet promotes habits that discourage looking deeper. But the situation isn't hopeless. Schlesinger profiles individuals and institutions renewing the practice of inquiry--particularly in America's youth--at a time when our society demands such activity from us all.


"From her start in politics as a teenager Andrea Batista Schlesinger has asked the important questions. Now she asks her most important: are we teaching young people to value inquiry, and if not, what hope can we have for the future of democracy?"  -Katrina vanden Heuvel, Publisher, The Nation