The idea of this book is better than its execution. The best parts were the long (chapter-sized) introduction, and the first and third explanatory chapters. The second chapter was an alphabetical list of 101 professors that, taken cumulatively, was as boring as all get out. After about the fifth arch-feminist or Israel-hater I got the point.

And who decided against footnotes? Instead of footnotes on each page, or endnotes at the end of each professor's bio (the former would have been the best option), some editor decided to put endnotes at the end of the book and number them continuously. Up to 862 citations and notes!

The second chapter would have better been chopped up into themes, i.e. radical feminists, anti-military guys, La Raza racists, etc., with individual professors and their idiocy trotted out as examples, not as subjects themselves. The actual list, list only, should have been an appendix. As to Horowitz's conclusions, they are, of course, spot on. It is fashionable in the halls of academe, if not to hate America, to at least blame it for all the world's evils. And, as a historian, I often see the rampant use of a skewed, one-sided narrative of "everything America has done was bad" à la Zinn. But, this was boring as hell, and a sssssssssllllllllllllooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww read. ( )

With documentation that will be hard to refute, David Horowitz describes the betrayal of our young people by professors who are defiantly unethical and contemptuous of academic standards. It is a form of educational malpractice. We learn that War Churchill, the shame of Colorado's unifersity system, has his counterparts on campuses across the nation.-John Andrews, former president of the Colorado Senate, sponsor of Colorado legislation to implement the Academic Bill of Rights ( )

I've been in academia for twenty years watching the sad, precipitous decline of scholarship - particularly in the humanities. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the intellectual well being of the next generation. ( )

A book of lies. ( )

A month and a half ago, while perusing through the shelves of Borders, I layed eyes upon a book that I thought might change the way I look at academia. The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America grabbed my attention. I wanted to know who these Professors were, why they were considered threatening and why their power (influence) was feared.

After scanning the book, a main selection of the Conservative Book Club, I decided to purchase it. I immediately fell in love with the text, not because I necessarily agreed with the author but because I admired so many of the Dangerous Academics profiled. From Amiri Baraka to bell hooks, for some reason most of the prominent Black leaders have been labeled as "dangerous". And as Edward Burghart warned, there is a subtle question that looms, "How does it feel to be a problem?" Indeed, how does it feel to be a threat?

In the introduction Horowitz mentions, "In September 2005, the American Political Science Association's annual meeting featured a panel devoted to the question, 'Is It Time to Call It Facism?' meaning the Bush administration. Given the vibrant reality of American democracy in the year 2005, this was obviously a political rather than a scholarly agenda." Or , perhaps it is precisely the "vibrant reality" that The Professors are concerned with.

Often, Ann Arbor prides itself on it's liberal ideals so I would have been suprised if there wasn't at least one faculty member from the University of Michigan. Indeed I found her, my former professor Gayle Rubin.

Honestly, I must admit, I would recomend this book. In fact, I have recommmended this book. And, the recommendation still stands. My only wish is that this text would have been written (first) in the voice of one of those professors who are feared.

Growing up as a brown skin girl in Detroit, Michigan I was always aware of my blackness. This has lead to a great deal of cultural pride that I will never denounce. Unfortunately, my understanding of the world was very limited. Ironically, The Professors has helped to add color to my Black and White world. While I was already familiar with all of the African American professors who were profiled, I was ashamed to realize that Iwas not familiar with the work of any non-black (or non-philosopher) who was mentioned. Since Blacks arrived on the Good Ship Jesus, our presence (and indeed, our intellect) has been perceived as a threat. The Professors has opened my eyes to realize there are other Americans whose voices are not heard, whose thoughts are not understood, whose opinions are not valued and whose presence is deemed as "dangerous" to the vibrant reality of American Democracy in 2006. In one volume, I have access to some of the most ground breaking modern ideas. And, personally, I will use this text as a booklist of future readings of brilliant minds whose philosophy and research I have not yet been exposed.

Love,
Lhea J
http://blackbookshelf.blogspot.com/2006/04/americas-most-dangerous.html ( )