In Defense of a Liberal Education

By: Fareed Zakaria

Narrated by: Fareed Zakaria

Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling 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.

©2015 Fareed Zakaria. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

A must read for anyone with a college bound teenager.

This is a must read for anyone who has a young person considering college. He provides an Excellent perspective on the value of a liberal college Education. Not in terms of economics, but in terms preparation for the workforce and in life. He makes an argument to think of college as more than a trade school. He makes an excellent argument on training our young people to think instead of just giving them a skill. And and how this will be a better preparation for life. In chapter 6 he provides one of the best defense of the millennial generation I have heard in a long time.

Enlightening defense

For the ability to connect the information with results it produces this is very well thought out. It's quick and thought provoking for starts and supportive research for those looking to understand influence of education in our future.

Thinking for Yourself Is a Good Thing

Having grown up in Texas, one of the biggest offenders against the idea of the masses thinking for itself as individuals, I can look almost anywhere in my surroundings and directly apply Zakaria's arguments. There is so much practical wisdom here that most will never see or take advantage of that it hurts. Zakaria's thoughts here are well-organized, well-defended, and transparent on every level, and yet, implementing it to its fullest goes beyond the level of the individual. Those in power have very little incentive to change the status quo because that's how they got to power in the first place. Even so, Zakaria makes an excellent case for the practicality and value of liberal arts and the power of a people who can hink for themselves. My personal suggestion would be the one path unthinkable to most: for an individual to continue such studies on their own. There are resources aplenty in the age of information. Play the game, get the degree you think you need, but never stop learning. If someone says a body of knowledge isn't necessary in modern society, there are many good reasons that knowledge should be pursued with enthusiasm.

Very good

He said precisely what I have always thought, though he is much more eloquent than I. I want my children to hear/read this.

Almost

I can almost agree with all that Fareed had to say. I myself did not graduate from high school. And I have a great life today at the age of sixty one. I've made a lot of mistakes but I learned from everyone of them. When I started out at the age of 12 I new that the most important thing was too make as much money as you can, and always learn as much as you can from everything that you do.
And I'm still learning every day! This is how life should be. Enjoying every moment of what you make of it. And if you screw up you can always try something else!!

Howard Hackney

Great insight into higher education

great analysis of higher educations function across the world and what can be done to improve or make sure it doesn't go stagnate. Fareeds narrations is excellent as always.

really good book, was easy to follow,

Very interesting book, the author's voice is very good. I listened to it with 2 friends.this was my second time reading it. She found it very enlightning and he enjoyed it because the book kept him interested for the entire literary composition?

Well Worth a Listen

This was a solid treatment of the benefits of a broad education. I work with pre-teaching majors, though I have a liberal arts degree, and this gave me some insight about how to help students understand the differences between these types of degrees.

Pleasant homework!

I was assigned this for an college level English class. I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Reading it was too daunting, but listening to it informed me and opened my mind.

Short, but engaging and persuading

What did you love best about In Defense of a Liberal Education?

I enjoyed this book. It was short, very easy to understand, and noted some academic studies to support his hypothesis. An engaging argument to support those that choose to follow a liberal arts education.