In Defense of a Liberal Education, Fareed Zakaria
In Defense of a Liberal Education, Fareed Zakaria
5 Rating(s)
List: $14.99 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.49

In Defense of a Liberal Education

Author: Fareed Zakaria

Narrator: Fareed Zakaria

Unabridged: 3 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/30/2015


Synopsis

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.

About Fareed Zakaria

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.


Reviews

This isn’t a long read or a difficult read but I found myself lingering over various parts of Zakaria’s arguments concerning the value of the liberal arts and the liberal education. There are several elements to this book and they are not always handled separately and distinctly. First there is Zakari......more

Goodreads review by Chuck

If you are going to read just a single book about liberal arts education, this is the most approachable. This is a pithy little contribution to the list of books endorsing liberal arts education. Zakaria is an interesting non-university voice in the conversation. The internationalism of his experien......more

Goodreads review by Michael

First off, I like Fareed Zakaria--especially his book The Future of Freedom, which is a nuanced, intelligent analysis of modern democracy in practice, which is very different than modern democracy in theory. He is a learned and engaging writer whose books have, in the past, come close to being actua......more

Goodreads review by Laura

A short, lucid book that articulates Zakaria's thoughts on the significance of a liberal education. This is not "liberal" as in politically left and squishy of thought, but "liberal" in the sense of the Yale report he quotes: "the essence of a liberal education is 'not to teach that which is peculia......more

Goodreads review by Joe

I remember watching Jon Stewart interview Marco Rubio and Rubio was arguing for sensible education. Words to the effect of, "Do we need more Greek History majors?" The argument is that people shouldn't go to college for knowledge, but to acquire a marketable skill. The insistence is on learning a tr......more