Ulich's book is the premier anthology for educators interested in the writings of the greats in our field. Other readers, such as those by Dushkin and the "Annual Editions" series may be more "current" and have some fine stuff, but Ulich's book remains unsurpassed for giving teachers a broad understanding of the greatness of our heritage. It is always a delight when teachers in my graduate classes come up to me before class and say "Wow! You know, ___ was really cool!"

There are a few glitches in this otherwise-splendid volume: His coverage of Jewish and Muslim writers is much too brief, with puzzling lacunae. For instance, was Ulich totally unaware of the rich traditions of yeshiva education? His commentary is a bit uneven: For example, he leaves the average western reader high and dry in making sense of the Chinese and Hindu literature, and his badmouthing of Quintilian strikes my students (and me!) as a bit bizarre.

But despite its occasional flaws, Ulich's book remains the best for giving educators points of view and insights the modern stuff has unfortunately neglected. Again and again he reminds us that in education, there really is nothing new under the sun, that there may be other (and better) ways of doing whatever it is we think we have invented this year, and that we are inheritors of a great tradition. Invariably, teachers in my classes approach this book with trepidation if not terror, but come away from it with a startling sense of accomplishment, a bemused attitude toward our modern hubris, and a new dignity in a vocation that has been belittled for much too long.