American College and the Culture of Aspiration, 1915–1940

David O. Levine teaches history at the University of California, Los Angeles.

In a narrative that is intelligently presented, well organized, and swarming with information on a subject that deserves the attention given to it, the author skillfully describes how conservatives mouthed the platitudes of a liberal, democratic ethos of opportunity—the American Dream—and then acted effectively to delimit and structure the consequences.(History of Education Quarterly) Levine's book is a major achievement-one of the essential half-dozen volumes in the history of higher education in America.(Choice) For anyone interested in the history and future of American post-secondary education, this book offers an insightful foundation for understanding the competing tides of stability and change that have marked post-World War II higher education. It will inform both policymakers and historians about an overlooked, yet critical period in the uneasy evolution of American higher education institutions.(Harvard Educational Review)