"Fascinating reading, particularly when we bear in mind thatit is an attempt
to establish what all culturally literate Americans actually know, not what they ought to
know.Mr. Hirsch's proposal merits serious consideration."New York Times

In this forceful manifesto Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr., argues that children in the
United States are being deprived of the basic knowledge that would enable them to function in
contemporary society. They lack cultural literacy: a grasp of background information that writers
and speakers assume their audience already has. Thus even if a student has a basic competence
in the English language, he or she has little chance of entering the American mainstream without
knowing what a silicon chip is, or when the Civil War was fought.

A major best-seller that has engendered a nationwide debate on our educational standards,
Cultural Literacy is must listening for parents, teachers, and anyone else concerned with our
future as a literate nation.

Barrett Whitener has recorded audiobooks since 1992. His recordings have won several awards, including the Audio Publishers Association's Audie and four Earphones Awards. AudioFile cited him as among "the best voices of the century." He lives in Washington, D.C.