from ehines

I disagree with many of the points Bloom is trying to make, but I think a) the book is a very good conversation starter; b) that the conversations it starts are ones we really ought to be having; and, c) that his main point about intellectual standards having substantially slipped is well-taken. ...

from brett_in_nyc

This is an all time favourite and really did change my outlook. Nothing I didn't know implicitly, but it was great to be validated by such a great thinker. Not sure how to get out of this one though!!! I think time and ashes are the only way to heal.

from kant1066

Unless you were attending a university when this book was published, or have a special interest in the general ongoing dialogue we call the culture wars, "The Closing of the American Mind" may not be on your radar. When it first came out in 1987, it caused quite a fracas and became, I'm sure to e...

from

I think the diversity of these reviews and comments is a testament to the quality of Bloom's work. Something that, had the book been emphasizing a bunch of thoughtless relativism (as opposed to thoughtful relativism), would have garnered a whole bunch of flat and homogenous reviews. The book had ...

from laughingcrane

A sweeping assessment of America's moral and intellectual state, including a serious look at the state of the university. In spite of its longevity--ne 1987--this book demands a searching read as well as collective instrospection of how we stack up now.