America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth

There is an awful lot to contemplate here but all is relevant and compelling, making this an excellent introduction to the author’s general project … one of those explosive little books that might spur you to buying multiple copies in order to leave on the bus or on the coffee table in the office or teachers’ lounge.

—New Politics

Giroux has written a compelling critical discourse analyzing the present crisis of democracy. We can only hope it will become a manifesto, taken up by an informed and energized citizenry—ready to act.

—Carol Becker, Professor of the Arts and Dean of the School of the Arts, Columbia University; author, Thinking In Place

This is classic Giroux in the sense that it contains all the passion, empathy, and righteous anger that we have come to associate with Henry Giroux. Impressive in his unflagging commitment to a public pedagogy that creates, sustains, and expands our discussions of what it means to be a citizen and member of a world community. Among so many strengths, I would single out this book’s attention to the youth of the world—not as ‘resources’ to be ‘developed’ and ‘trained,’ but as our best hope for a just world.

—David Palumbo-Liu, author, The Deliverance of Others: Reading Literature in a Global Age

From Mobil/Exxon to the two presidential candidates, everyone has a cure for the ills of education, but as usual Henry Giroux sees the truth behind the rhetoric. Stop stealing the future from our young people, especially in the working class. Unable to get decent educations, chained to dead-end jobs, our young people are the targets of state-sponsored violence. Giroux knows personally this situation; this book is his intellectual autobiography. Listen to him and act.

—John Carlos Rowe, University of Southern California

Giroux offers a compelling primer for the chaos that neoliberalism has wrought on our youth and education system. Giroux writes with passion that borders on poetic. And, unlike a lot of critical theory, the book is intelligible and easy to read. It would make a welcome addition any OWS-style people’s library or intro-level college class.

—Critical-Theory.com