In Defense of a Liberal Education

by Fareed Zakaria, Fareed Zakaria (Read by)

Overview

New York Times bestselling author of The Post-American World and host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS argues for a renewed commitment to the world’s most valuable educational traditions in this fascinating audiobook.

The liberal arts educational system is under attack. Governors in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina have announced that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts. Majors like English and History—which were once very popular and highly respected—are in steep decline and President Obama has recently advised students to keep in mind that technical training could be more valuable than a degree in art history, when deciding on an educational path.

In this timely and urgently needed audiobook Fareed Zakaria explains that this turn away from the liberal arts is a mistake. A liberal education provides the foundation for finding your voice, writing, speaking your mind, and ultimately, learning—all immensely valuable skills no matter your profession. Technology and globalization are making these skills even more valuable and necessary as routine mechanical and even computing tasks can be done by machines. More than just a path to a career, Zakaria argues that a liberal education is an exercise in freedom and above all, it feeds the most basic urge of the human spirit—to know.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442389762
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date:	03/30/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Pages:	3
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, bestselling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom, and a columnist for The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.

Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, bestselling author of The Post-American World and The Future of Freedom, and a columnist for The Washington Post. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

1 Coming to America 15

2 A Brief History of Liberal Education 40

3 Learning to Think 72

4 The Natural Aristocracy 106

5 Knowledge and Power 135

6 In Defense of Today's Youth 150

Notes 171

Acknowledgments 201

Editorial Reviews

06/29/2015
Zakaria provides a profound and well-argued defense of a traditional liberal-arts education, in the face of a large push in the United States to devalue and defund it. He does this in part by examining his own education, in both India and the U.S., while also addressing the assumptions, misinformation, and misunderstandings about the liberal-arts education in general. Zakaria provides a strong, energetic reading for the audio version of his book. His narration also benefits from his sense of emphasis and pacing. The weight of the subject is evident in his voice, and he navigates the complex issues deliberately, helping listeners better understand the text. His light Indian accent also makes the narration feel all the more personal and connected to Zakaria’s experience and knowledge. A Norton hardcover. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Audio

Narrating his own work, the CNN host and WASHINGTON POST columnist warns about the impending death of liberal arts education in the United States. Zakaria’s informative, direct message on the necessity of this type of education provides listeners with a personal connection to the topic as well as factual reports defending the liberal arts. The author’s tone is unafraid as he expresses great concern about the changes currently taking place in American education. An intellectual urgency comes across in his detailed account of coming to the United States from India and his discussion of American youth and how they respond to education. This listening experience is both thought provoking and bold. T.E.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

MAY 2015 - AudioFile

…deft and persuasive…Zakaria brings the reader swiftly and surely through the noble history of the liberal education ideal and describes with alarm how it is buckling under pressure from rising college tuition and students who are understandably concerned about acquiring marketable skills…his book is an accessible, necessary defense of an idea under siege.

The New York Times Book Review - Kevin Carey

"Smart."

The New York Times - Nicholas Kristof

"In Defense of a Liberal Education brilliantly and provocatively argues that the university is much more than a vocational school. The flight from the liberal arts is leaving us impoverished. Zakaria's book couldn't have come at a more valuable moment."

Malcolm Gladwell

"An accessible, necessary defense of an idea under siege."

New York Times Book Review

"In Defense of a Liberal Education brilliantly and provocatively argues that the university is much more than a vocational school. The flight from the liberal arts is leaving us impoverished. Zakaria's book couldn't have come at a more valuable moment."

Malcolm Gladwell

"Smart."

Nicholas Kristof - The New York Times

2015-03-01
Why Americans should continue to embrace a well-rounded education. After being accepted at Yale, Zakaria (The Post-American World: Release 2.0, 2011, etc.)—who emigrated from India, a country whose educational system is deeply rooted in the concept of learning a skill or trade rather than embracing a general education—had to decide on a course of study. Although fearful of what his Indian friends might think, he decided to major in history, a subject he was passionate about but one that was not necessarily considered useful. Zakaria implores all Americans to reconsider the idea of obtaining a liberal education, using solid evidence from Colonial days to the present to show that a liberal education is the ultimate element that separates the educational system of the United States from much of the rest of the world. America was founded on new ideas and people who didn't want to be locked into the European method of learning via specific training and/or apprenticeships. Zakaria's arguments are cohesive, and his accessible prose logically progresses as he builds his case for a type of education that opens doors that might otherwise never be discovered. "A good educational system must confront the realities of the world we live in and educate in a way that addresses them," he writes, "rather than pretend that these challenges don't exist." A liberal education gives one the tools to be able to learn anything, whether it is science-based, technology-based, or something altogether different. It emphasizes methods of writing and speaking one's thoughts through creative endeavors and the pursuit of interests that hold attention far beyond the classroom. Zakaria adroitly points out that thanks to the Internet and online classes, the opportunity to learn anything, just about anywhere in the world, is now available to the global population, so there's no reason not to take advantage. A passionate appeal, for Americans in particular and the world at large, to rethink the benefits of a well-rounded, general education.

Kirkus Reviews