A Dominican-born academic tells the story of how the Great Books transformed his life and why they have the power to speak to people of all backgrounds. What is the value of a liberal education? Traditionally characterized by a rigorous engagement with the classics of Western thought and literature, this approach to education is all but extinct in American universities, replaced by flexible distribution requirements and ever-narrower academic specialization....

Is your child getting lost in the system, becoming bored, losing his or her natural eagerness to learn? If so, it may be time to take charge of your child's education by doing it yourself. The Well-Trained Mind will instruct you, step by step, on how to give your child an academically rigorous, comprehensive education from preschool through high school--one that will train him or her to read, to think, to understand, to be well-rounded and curious...

"Not so long ago, conservative intellectuals such as William F. Buckley Jr. believed universities were worth fighting for. Today, conservatives seem more inclined to burn them down. In Let's Be Reasonable, conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks finds in liberal education an antidote to this despair, arguing that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable--and revealing why the health of our democracy...

In this book, the author (a distinguished political philosopher) argues that the social/political crisis of 20th-century America is really an intellectual crisis marked by obvious declines in appreciation of humanities, a drop in the qualitative output of our university systems, and a disquieting disconnect between today's students and the spiritual and cultural traditions of their heritage.

"Children are natural learners, and building a core foundation at an early age is critical to their success both educationally and in life. Yet academic excellence is lacking in many school systems throughout the country. In this book, education expert and author Leigh A. bortins incoroprates the best ideas from the ancients and gives parents the tools to revive classical learning" --Cover, p. 4.

The liberal arts major is often lampooned: lacking in "skills," unqualified for a professional career, underemployed. But studying for the joy of learning turns out to be surprisingly practical. Unlike career-focused education, liberal education prepares graduates for anything and everything--and nervous "fuzzy major" students, their even more nervous parents, college career center professionals, and prospective employers would do well to embrace...