Nicole LaPorte

Interesting account of the creation and life of the relatively short-lived Dreamworks studio in the 1990s and 2000s. The book, in my view, does a credible job in explaining what went wrong with the studio; high expectations undermined by poor executive management at the live-action studio seem to be the principal culprits. One thing I thought was interesting was that the bare-knuckled David Geffen comes off slightly better than expected, whereas Jeffrey Katzenberg's hit-or-miss performances make him out as one of the architects of failure, and there are some definite flaws in the way Steven Spielberg operated -- little wonder the principals didn't want to be interviewed. An intriguing read.… (meer)

This book was just incredible! I picked it up as a fan of investigative journalism as well as my love for all things academia and I was not disappointed! Well researched and well designed coupled with lovely writing and interesting facts makes this book incredibly readable and very hard to put down! This is exactly what I always hope for when picking up a book of this sorts.

Highly recommend this book for anyone looking for an engrossing read. Though there has been a lot of coverage of the Varsity Blues scandal already, author Nicole LaPorte charts new territory to explore the psychological motivations of the key players and the social effects of the entire tutoring-industrial complex.

Thank you so much to netgalley and publishers for providing an advanced e-copy. I was elated to be chosen to not only honestly review this book but to get to experience it for myself and without netgalley this may have gotten lost in my TBR pile. DO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN! If you have any interest in this subject or in investigative journalism at all this book is the perfect choice for you!… (meer)

It is a reminder that wanting something for nothing is opening yourself up to being conned. Some of the schools mentioned are familiar to me. I now have a better understanding of why schools are less reliant on admissions testing. It’s clearly something open to legitimate gaming.
I am older of a generation when college admission was for all appearances a meritocracy. It worked well for me.
Not sure how the underlying problem, inequities in the college admission process can be fixed. We have to hope universities and colleges keep trying.… (meer)