John R. Thelin is University Research Professor and a member of the Educational Policy Studies Department at the University of Kentucky. His many books include Games Colleges Play: Scandal and Reform in Intercollegiate Athletics, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Historians and Higher Education1. Colleges in the Colonial Era2. Creating the "American Way" in Higher Education: College-Building, 1785 to 18603. Diversity and Adversity: Resilience in American Higher Education, 1860 to 18904. Captains of Industry and Erudition: University-Builders, 1880 to 19105. Alma Mater: America Goes to College, 1890 to 19206. Success and Excess: Expansion and Reforms in Higher Education, 1920 to 19457. Gilt by Association: Higher Education's "Golden Age," 1970 to 20008. Coming of Age in America: Higher Education as a Troubled Giant, 1970 to 20009. A New Life Begins? Reconfiguring American Higher Education in the Twenty-first CenturyNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

"Destined to be the standard work in this area for years to come." (Journal of College Student Development) "The book is worthy of being the major new overview of U.S. higher education." (Education Review) "A readable and concise introduction to this subject, it propels audience members to develop an appreciation for the heterogeneous... academe story as a whole." (Teachers College Record) "Despite its age, Rudolph's single-volume history has endured... Now John Thelin's A History of American Higher Education provides a worthy replacement." (History of Education Quarterly)"

John R. Thelin is University Research Professor and a member of the Educational Policy Studies Department at the University of Kentucky. His many books include Games Colleges Play: Scandal and Reform in Intercollegiate Athletics, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Historians and Higher Education1. Colleges in the Colonial Era2. Creating the "American Way" in Higher Education: College-Building, 1785 to 18603. Diversity and Adversity: Resilience in American Higher Education, 1860 to 18904. Captains of Industry and Erudition: University-Builders, 1880 to 19105. Alma Mater: America Goes to College, 1890 to 19206. Success and Excess: Expansion and Reforms in Higher Education, 1920 to 19457. Gilt by Association: Higher Education's "Golden Age," 1970 to 20008. Coming of Age in America: Higher Education as a Troubled Giant, 1970 to 20009. A New Life Begins? Reconfiguring American Higher Education in the Twenty-first CenturyNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

"Destined to be the standard work in this area for years to come." (Journal of College Student Development) "The book is worthy of being the major new overview of U.S. higher education." (Education Review) "A readable and concise introduction to this subject, it propels audience members to develop an appreciation for the heterogeneous... academe story as a whole." (Teachers College Record) "Despite its age, Rudolph's single-volume history has endured... Now John Thelin's A History of American Higher Education provides a worthy replacement." (History of Education Quarterly)"

John R. Thelin is University Research Professor and a member of the Educational Policy Studies Department at the University of Kentucky. His many books include Games Colleges Play: Scandal and Reform in Intercollegiate Athletics, also published by Johns Hopkins.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Historians and Higher Education1. Colleges in the Colonial Era2. Creating the "American Way" in Higher Education: College-Building, 1785 to 18603. Diversity and Adversity: Resilience in American Higher Education, 1860 to 18904. Captains of Industry and Erudition: University-Builders, 1880 to 19105. Alma Mater: America Goes to College, 1890 to 19206. Success and Excess: Expansion and Reforms in Higher Education, 1920 to 19457. Gilt by Association: Higher Education's "Golden Age," 1970 to 20008. Coming of Age in America: Higher Education as a Troubled Giant, 1970 to 20009. A New Life Begins? Reconfiguring American Higher Education in the Twenty-first CenturyNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

"Destined to be the standard work in this area for years to come." (Journal of College Student Development) "The book is worthy of being the major new overview of U.S. higher education." (Education Review) "A readable and concise introduction to this subject, it propels audience members to develop an appreciation for the heterogeneous... academe story as a whole." (Teachers College Record) "Despite its age, Rudolph's single-volume history has endured... Now John Thelin's A History of American Higher Education provides a worthy replacement." (History of Education Quarterly)"