The Indictment
higher education. And surely stringing up a few professors ofociology, chemistry, and French, along with the stray expert in Chaucerian verse, is hardly a serious or humane reform program, entertaining as it might be for the undergraduates.
pathetic state of teaching, and the boggling price tag on the universities’ tapestry of failure.
Samples of the reaction to ProfScam
“Mr. Sykes’ vivid and occasionally eloquent expose is sure to
provoke howls of indignant rage in the academy But as a
report from the front, ProfScam is an incisive and convincing
indictment that deserves to be read by anyone concerned about
the future of American higher education.”
—The New York Times Book Review“[A] pugnacious, absorbing, funny, informative book Could
Charles Sykes be the Ralph Nader of a coming academic reform
movement? To the professors, such a movement will probably
look like a horde of barbarians storming the gates of the Temple
of Knowledge. But the mass of evidence chronicled by Sykes
suggests that the barbarians are on the other side of the gates.” —The Detroit News
“…a lively indictment
—
ProfScam is uncomfortably on
mark in its depiction of the ills of the academy.” —The Wall Street Journal“Sykes demonstrates both his skill as an investigative reporter
and as an essayist. His thesis—that the professoriate is responsible
for inflicting terrible damage to our system of higher education
—is well-documented and delineated in a clear, engaging and often
humorous style ProfScam is a stunning and disturbing piece1 of
work. One can only hope that it will be an influential one as well.”
—The California Review“. . . an extraordinary book about higher education in America—
The thrill of Mr. Sykes’s book resides in its relentless specificity.”
—National Review“This man is a truth teller, therefore he is shrill, obnoxious.
abusive, aggressive, offensive, and absolutely riuht \ firstrate
analysis of a major national calamity the end of the
university as a suitable medium for educating our young people.”
—Chronicles