Frank Smith holds a Harvard Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology. He has written over 20 books on such topics as language, reading, writing, thinking and comprehension. He has held positions as professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Professor of Language in Education at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and Professor and Department-head of Applied English Language Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He was featured by the BBC in a program titled "How Do You Read?" and was a featured speaker in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Ideas program on language. His most recent prize was awarded by the National Council of Teachers of English "for his transforming influence and lasting intellectual contribution to the English profession." He is the first Canadian to receive this prestigious award.

• Part I: From Essays Into LiteracyPart II: From Unspeakable Acts, Unnatural PracticesPart III: From Joining the Literacy ClubPart IV: From Reading Without NonsensePart V: From Between Hope and Havoc Part VI: From Comprehension and Learning Part VII: From Insult to IntelligencePart VIII: From The Glass Wall