Can a book be both boring and interesting at the same time? I'm very interested in the subject matter of this book, and it's a wonderful history of the American educational system from the 1960's and on. Think you've got a good way to save education? It's probably been tried (and failed) before. The first half went by quickly, but somewhere along the way, I had problems reading more than a few paragraphs at a time, and could barely bring myself to finish it. Still, I took copious notes, and will probably refer back to the book in the future. It's a disheartening book -- when you consider the way our country likes to operate (free market capitalism, etc), the future of public schools doesn't look good. If you want to know more about how our educational system has been falling apart for decades, this is a good selection.