The Closing of the American Mind

By: Allan Bloom

Narrated by: Christopher Hurt

In one of the most important books of our time, Allan Bloom, a professor of social thought at the University of Chicago and a noted translator of Plato and Rousseau, argues that the social and political crisis of 20th-century America is really an intellectual crisis. Bloom cites everything from the universities' lack of purpose to the students' lack of learning, from the jargon of liberation to the supplanting of reason by so-called creativity. Furthermore, he shows how American democracy has unwittingly played host to vulgarized Continental ideas of nihilism and despair, of relativism disguised as tolerance, while demonstrating that the collective mind of the American university is closed to the very principles of spiritual heritage that gave rise to the university in the first place.(P)1992 by Blackstone Audiobooks; ©1987 by Alan Bloom

Critic reviews

"With clarity, gravity, and grace, Bloom makes a convincing case for the improbable proposition that reading old books about the permanent questions could help to reestablish reason and restore the soul." (Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard University)

Excellent...Must Listen

This was an excellent listen. Every American should listen to this a couple times. Great understanding of what happened before the "60's revolution" and what drove that cultural revolution.

Worth the time

Excellent and spot on. This book some 30 years ago predicted the results we are seeing now in the universities.

Refreshing.

Fantastic book and amazingly prescient. Well written and argued. He was like an oracle to the present day.

Not a great narrator.

Intelligent and straightforward.

So smart and intertwined with other valuable learning. Should be added to all reading lists.

Slightly dated book, that still works for now 2020 reading

Timeless with info on where were and hopefully where we are going, as a culture.

MUST read!

Bloom absolutely knows his subject and his audience. This is not a windbag polemic, this is an erudite and precision analysis of higher education in the US in 1980. 40 years later (now) you will recognize the sources of the carnage in college and public discourse proving Bloom was exactly right.

This is particularly valuable because we think our current problems the worst. we forget about public violence in the 70's and in colleges. This completely proves Bloom's principle assumption: humans always face the same problems and we should "learn" to address these fundamental issues through liberal education which, at least since 1980, we no longer have access too.

Crisp thought, crisp delivery.

It's always a joy seeing the world through another's eyes. Our author takes us on a journey through a world I never experienced, and I thank him for it.

A Must Read!

A must read!
Enlightening, in-depth, comprehensive dissective analysis of the American educational system. Bloom's firsthand account is extremely well-written and this audio version is expertly read. My only complaint is that it ended too soon.

Wonderful Book - Typical Boring Narration

Ive read the book several times and find it filled with many important insights for those living in our Constitutional republic. I also have an old recording on cassettes which were narrated by Allan Bloom himself. I was hoping that this would be the same recording, but available in a modern audio format without all the hiss of those old cassette tapes. Unfortunately, someone else narrated the book. He has the typical syrupy but monotonous kind of voice so often found in audio books. There's none of the inflection or passion of the author when he read the book. I find it hard to keep my eyes open when listening to this version. Does the narrator even understand what he's reading, its significance ? This version lulls me to sleep. I better not drive with it on. I doubt I will finish listening to this version. It was quite a disappointment. Even though I don't think I can listen to more than 10 minutes of it, I can't bear to give the book a horrible rating. The content deserves 5 stars. - -

Must read book; distracting audio recording

This audiobook recording is plagued by what sounds like an unintended second track that bleeds in and out at the level of background noise. Given the often heady nature of Bloom's writing, the background noise is quite distracting.

The book itself is an entertaining form of true education; both in politics, history, philosophy, and a masterful use of the English language. I found the preface and introduction sections to be pedantic and at first doubted the value of listening to the following 14 hours of audio. But the book itself is quite good, particularly if you are interested in a very intelligent person's description of the de-evolution of the university-societal complex since the 1960's. If you are well aware of the horrific state of America today (January 1, 2021) and want to understand (on a level higher than Levin/Savage/diSouza/Shapiro) how we got here, I highly recommend Bloom's book -- but not this edition of the audiobook.