Part of the Jossey-Bass Wiley Series, Selling Higher Education: Marketing and Advertising America’s College and Universities by Eric J. Anctil is an unusual publication. A monograph with a valuable perspective on a key part of higher education, the book is neither as critical nor as prescriptive as one might expect. Lisa Wolf-Wendel, the series editor,…
Category: Reviews
Reviews of books, articles, and the like
Eagleton and Beaumont on Eagleton
Eagleton and Beaumont talking about Eagleton, for nine months, transcribed, edited and shaped into themes, is the bones, sinew and meat of The Task of the Critic: Terry Eagleton in Dialogue. Eagleton is a brilliant critic, a provocative writer and an extremely thoughtful man. But as a raconteur . . . . . What sticks?…
How Many Zeros Does It Take?
Randall Lane’s The Zeroes is a messy, rambling, engaging, provocative and challenging first-person account of Lane’s experiences as a magazine publisher catering to Wall Street in the “boom boom” years. Subtitled “My Misadventures in the Decade Wall Street Went Insane” might well be rephrased as the decade “Wall Street and I Went Insane.” Lane is a…
Picturing Medical Progress
Popular culture books can be a mixed bag. They usually have some of the sexiest titles and layouts in an academic bookstore. Their payoff, however, does not always measure up. Many get very theoretical and others lose focus. Like the exotic fusion food from the 1980s – kiwis, langoustines and sesame seeds, anyone? – satisfaction…
Talking About Which Generation?
Historians and paleontologists talk about “eras” and “periods.” Today, driven by marketers and psychologist, we focus on “generations.” The chronology is a bit contested but for all of us 21st century blogging American it runs as follows: Tom Brokaw’s “greatest generation” was followed by the Baby Boomers, who gave way to Generation X, followed by…
A Thorough Look Under the Learning Hood
Many of us have read more than our fair share of books about teaching, and I would wager that the general themes are familiar. We have first person accounts, which often fall into one of two categories: the successful exhorting or the pedagogically challenged who, through some journey and development, have become successful exhorting. There…
But What About Me?
Christine Hassler wants to be the go-to author for the twenty-year-old generation. Her latest, the 20 Something Manifesto: Quarter-Lifers Speak Out about Who They Are, What They Want, and How to Get It builds off an earlier work, 20 Something, 20 Everything and is probably found in your local bookstore’s self-help section. “You are not…