Closing of the American Mind：How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students

THEBRILLIANTANDCONTROVERSIALCRITIQUEOFAMERICANCULTUREWITHNEARLYAMILLIONCOPIESINPRINTIn1987,eminentpoliticalphilosopherAllanBloompublishedTheClosingoftheAmericanMind,anappraisalofcontemporaryAmericathat“hitswiththeapproximateforceandeffectofelectroshocktherapy”(TheNewYorkTimes)andhasnotonlybeenvindicated,buthasalsobecomemoreurgenttoday.Inclear,spiritedprose,BloomarguesthatthesocialandpoliticalcrisesofcontemporaryAmericaarepartofalargerintellectualcrisis:theresultofadangerousnarrowingofcuriosityandexplorationbytheuniversityelites.Now,inthistwenty-fifthanniversaryedition,acclaimedauthorandjournalistAndrewFergusoncontributesanewessaythatdescribeswhyBloom’sargumentcausedsuchafuroratpublicationandwhyourculturesodeeplyresistsitstruthstoday.