"This book will be a monumental contribution to the topic and a staple of scholarship for decades." --Michael B. Katz
"A remarkable volume of critical synthesis and passionate revisionism." --Journal of Economic History
". . . ambitious and stimulating . . . required reading not only for social historians but also for policy-makers and activists." --Histoire Sociale
"Clearly an important book . . . marks a significant point in the history of literacy studies." --History of Education Quarterly
"A stimulating challenge to traditional assumptions and scholarly commonplaces." --Journal of Communication