The Golden Dozen Is The Ivy League Worth The Dollars

Previously published as part of HIGHER EDUCATION? A quarter of a million dollars. It's the going tab for four years at most top-tier colleges. But is it worth it? In this provocative work, the renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus investigate whether the most high-ranking and sought-after American colleges and universities are worth their haloed reputations. Hacker and Dreifus refer to this top-tier group as "the Golden Dozen"—the top twelve ultra-desired schools that inspire the fiercest competition and elitist devotion amongst college applicants and their parents. But what exactly are these applicants and their parents embracing when they anxiously seek admission to the Golden Dozen? Do these schools really represent the "best" education in the nation? And what does "the best" mean anyway?

What's gone wrong at our colleges and universities—and how to get American higher education back on track A quarter of a million dollars. It's the going tab for four years at most top-tier universities. Why does it cost so much and is it worth it? Renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus make an incisive case that the American way of higher education, now a $420 billion-per-year business, has lost sight of its primary mission: the education of young adults. Going behind the myths and mantras, they probe the true performance of the Ivy League, the baleful influence of tenure, an unhealthy reliance on part-time teachers, and the supersized bureaucracies which now have a life of their own. As Hacker and Dreifus call for a thorough overhaul of a self-indulgent system, they take readers on a road trip from Princeton to Evergreen State to Florida Gulf Coast University, revealing those faculties and institutions that are getting it right and proving that teaching and learning can be achieved—and at a much more reasonable price.

The United States has been shaped by three sweeping political revolutions: Jefferson’s “revolution of 1800,” the Civil War, and the New Deal. Each of these upheavals concluded with lasting institutional and cultural adjustments that set the stage for a new phase of political and economic development. Are we on the verge of another upheaval, a “fourth revolution” that will reshape U.S. politics for decades to come? There are signs to suggest that we are. James Piereson describes the inevitable political turmoil that will overtake the United States in the next decade as a consequence of economic stagnation, the unsustainable growth of government, and the exhaustion of postwar arrangements that formerly underpinned American prosperity and power. The challenges of public debt, the retirement of the “baby boom” generation, and slow economic growth have reached a point where they require profound changes in the role of government in American life. At the same time, the widening gulf between the two political parties and the entrenched power of interest groups will make it difficult to negotiate the changes needed to renew the system. Shattered Consensus places this impending upheaval in historical context, reminding readers that Americans have faced and overcome similar trials in the past, in relatively brief but intense periods of political conflict. While others claim that the United States is in decline, Piereson argues that Americans will rise to the challenge of forming a new governing coalition that can guide the nation on a path of dynamism and prosperity.

A fast-paced ride through the world of hedge funds revealing the unvarnished truth of how Wall Street really operates, and how to use this to your advantage An insider's view of the high stakes world of money management, Diary of a Hedge Fund Manager is both a practical guide for investors and the deeply personal story of a man who knows the system inside and out. One of the best young portfolio managers on Wall Street, and helping to run the hedge fund operation of one of the world's most prestigious firms, Keith McCullough finds himself a lone voice of reason as the economic crisis of 2008 looms large. Shown the door, his life takes a fascinating turn into the world of independent research and no-holds-barred criticism. Reveals the unvarnished truth of how Wall Street and hedge funds really operate Deftly details how to analyze the markets expertly and avoid group think using technical and fundamental measures Each topic is thoroughly discussed and followed up with lessons you can take away and put to use Written with the authority of someone who knows how Wall Street and hedge funds work, yet accessible to even a casual follower of finance, Diary of a Hedge Fund Manager mixes a constructive critique of the investment industry with fundamental lessons that any investor will find valuable.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A fire-breathing, righteous attack on the culture of superprivilege.”—Michael Wolff, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Fire and Fury, in the New York Times Book Review NOW WITH NEW REPORTING ON OPERATION VARSITY BLUES In this explosive and prescient book, based on three years of investigative report­ing, Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Golden shatters the myth of an American meri­tocracy. Naming names, along with grades and test scores, Golden lays bare a corrupt system in which middle-class and working-class whites and Asian Ameri­cans are routinely passed over in favor of wealthy white students with lesser credentials—children of alumni, big donors, and celebrities. He reveals how a family donation got Jared Kushner into Harvard, and how colleges comply with Title IX by giving scholarships to rich women in “patrician sports” like horseback riding and crew. With a riveting new chapter on Operation Varsity Blues, based on original re­porting, The Price of Admission is a must-read—not only for parents and students with a personal stake in college admissions but also for those disturbed by the growing divide between ordinary and privileged Americans. Praise for The Price of Admission “A disturbing exposé of the influence that wealth and power still exert on admission to the nation’s most prestigious universities.”—The Washington Post “Deserves to become a classic.”—The Economist

A powerful collection of novellas by four leading African-American women writers, each tackling the terror of domestic violence. In Other People’s Skin, Tracy Price-Thompson and TaRessa Stovall, along with writers Elizabeth Atkins and Desiree Cooper, took on intra-racial prejudice. The second book in their successful Sister4Sister Empowerment Series once again offers hope and healing, this time from the nightmare of abuse. In Desiree Cooper’s Breakin’ It Down, a highly successful talk show host, haunted by the abandonment and self-loathing she felt as a child, is shocked to find herself inflicting the same abuse she experienced on her seven-year-old daughter. Tracy Price-Thompson’s Brotherly Love goes deep into the disturbing relationship between a beautiful, accomplished teenage girl and the seemingly dutiful brother who raised her after their parents’ death. TaRessa Stovall’s Breakin’ Dishes reveals the turmoil behind the scenes of a picture-perfect marriage as an angry wife beats her cheating husband. And in Elizabeth Atkins’s The Wrong Side of Mr. Right, an outwardly beaming bride-to-be comes to terms with the inner turmoil brought on by her emotionally abusive fiancé. In all four novellas, redemption and hope appear when a pair of blue suede shoes enters each woman’s life, helping her to overcome her challenges and stop the cycle of abuse. A raw, engaging, and enlightening collection from beginning to end, My Blue Suede Shoes is as informative as it is entertaining.

In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”—a.k.a. her childhood best friend. Sometimes to find the good, you have to embrace the bad. Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there. What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame. Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…