November 7, 1997

The Real Guide is the source I have longed for in my advisement of students considering graduate study. I have recommended this book more than any other to students this year.

Mary Raymond, Director
Office of Career Counseling
Sarah Lawrence College

October 24, 1997

"I bought a copy of Lf's Real Guide to Grad School this morning, and can't put it down. Just wanted to let you know how fascinating I find it. The book will find utility not merely as a resource for prospective graduate students: it is a roadmap to the disciplines, and will be read as such by us lifers who struggle unsuccessfully to keep up with developments in disciplines other than their own.

A great idea, and a job well done. Congratulations to all who slaved over it."

Karl M. Petruso, Associate Vice Provost
Office of Research and Graduate Studies
University of Texas at Arlington

September 21, 1997

It's about time we had a guide book written by somebody who really knows the culture of graduate school from the inside. Who better than the editors of LINGUA FRANCA, which has done so much to explain the mysteries of the academy to a wider audience, to provide such an insider's perspective on the up to date ins and outs of graduate programs in the humanities and social sciences? I'll definitely be recommending it to my students

Gerald Graff
Pullman Professor of English and Education
and Director of the University of Chicago Master of
Arts Program in the Humanities

September 4, 1997

It lives up to its name, offering a useful compendium of concrete and practical advice on granduate education in the United States today, and although it has its limitations it is admirably upfront about them and generous with pointers to sources enabling students to dig deeper in each discipline. It is both more inclusive and more informed than other graduate school guides I know of. I have asked the Calvin bookstore to be sure to keep it in stock, and I intend to recommend it to every student who comes to me for advice about graduate study.

I wish this book had been on my shelf each time I met with a philosophy student last year-not so much for the philosophy section, but for the ease with which a student can gain some sense of the character of graduate education in several linked disciplines. I encoutner more and more gifted students uncertain about not only whether but also what to study at the graduate level. An outstanding graduate from a few years ago just quit a philosophy program in order to study social theory in a sociology department; one of my best students in political philosophy from last fall is podering whether to apply to graduate programs in philosophy or religion, and if the latter whether to choose an academically oriented seminary or to find a university department where his interests will be taken seriously; and so on. THE REAL GUIDE will be a terrific resource for such students.

David Hoekema
Academic Dean and Professor of Philosophy
Calvin College

September 9, 1997

The Humanities and Social Sciences volume of Lingua Franca's Real Guide to Graduate School is the most reliable book of its kind that I have ever read. I repeatedly found myself agreeing with its basic assessments, and think its sections of "constellations" within different Ph.D. programs are especially useful. I have already leant my copy to a prospective history graduate student and will recommend it to many more.

Sean Wilentz,
Professor of History
Princeton University

September 6, 1997

Just to let you know I've not only received the copy you sent of The Real Guide to Grad School, but have already copied the relevant chapters and handed them to a few likely grad school applicants. They've already found it immensely helpful. I rather wish I had such a guide when I started thinking about grad school! Though I probably could have benefited more from the blanket warning "Turn Back! This Means You!"

Kudos. Again.

All best,

Andrew Parker
Professor of English
Amherst College

October 6, 1997

This is the best guide to graduate study around. Its idealistic but also hard-headed approach offers thoughtful reflections on the nature of the disciplines and specific advice on how to navigate through them. Pick this book up with a specific question in mind. You'll probably find a good answer, as well as a compelling picture of the academy as a whole, in all its idiosyncratic glory.

Nancy Folbre
Professor of Economics
University of Massachusetts

October 16, 1997

"Two thumbs way way up!!! The most clear, concise, and insightful liberal arts education resource I've found. This one is going to get passed around to all of my buddies."

Madisonville, TN