The author's aim is to write for students, parents, concerned citizens and academics in a way that will help all to cope constructively with the current crisis in American higher education. If the adversarial relationship between the academy and the larger society continues, great harm will result to all. This book offers a balanced view of the problems of American universities, stressing the ways in which educators have made mistakes in recent decades and made contributions as well. The emphasis is on the interplay between scholarship and politics both on and off the campus. The author then suggests constructive remedies for change.