Time for my annual roundup of the books I “reviewed” in this space in 2025.
I put reviewed in air quotes, as I try to use these pieces on books as opportunities for lateral thinking about higher education.
Please reach out with recommendations for 2026.
‘Stuck,’ Academic Careers and the Housing Affordability Crisis: How the high cost of housing damages the careers of early and midcareer faculty and staff.
In Defense of Malcolm Gladwell and ‘Revenge of the Tipping Point’: Why Gladwell’s mediocre social science and simplistic critiques of elite higher education should not dissuade academics from reading his books.
Reading ‘Nexus’ as an Opportunity for a Different Type of Campus AI Conversation: Yuval Noah Harari’s AI book as a complement to Mollick’s Co-Intelligence.
‘What Are Children For?’ and Higher Ed’s Demographic Cliff: Future students and desired family size among faculty and staff.
‘The Chief Online Learning Officers’ Guidebook’: Three questions for Jocelyn Widmer and Thomas Cavanagh.
‘The Hidden Globe’ and the Attack on Universities: How the roots of economic inequality help to explain the assault on higher education
Universities, the Village and ‘On the Edge’: Reading Nate Silver’s pre-election book through post-election higher ed eyes.
