Books by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

The Making of Americans (2009)
Democracy and Our Schools
In this comprehensive and thought-provoking book, E. D. Hirsch, Jr. offers a masterful analysis of how American ideas about education have veered off course, what we must do to right them, and most importantly why.  Hirsch unabashedly confronts the education establishment, arguing that a content-based curriculum is essential to addressing social and economic inequality.

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The Knowledge Deficit (2006)
Closing the Shocking Education Gap for American Children
Despite billions of dollars spent and bills passed, there is no consensus on how to close the achievement gap and raise the academic performance of all American children compared to their international peers.  In The Knowledge Deficit, E. D. Hirsch, Jr. provides the map for creating a content-rich education that leads to reading mastery and to success on standardized and state tests.

The Schools We Need And Why We Don’t Have Them (1996)
Professor Hirsch traces the philosophies and practices that have dominated American education in this century and shows how failed "progressive" theories have gained a monopoly, despite being discredited by mainstream research. Pragmatic and proven remedies exist and we must turn to them with an open mind, he says, because a sound education is every child's civil right.

Cultural Literacy (1987)
What Every American Needs to Know
This best-selling, ground-breaking work spells out the ideas behind the Core Knowledge movement. To be able to function and prosper in society, one must possess the background knowledge that literate writers and speakers assume their audiences already share. Those who know it are culturally literate; the opportunities of a free society are open to them. Schools that neglect to impart this core knowledge leave their students seriously deprived and our democracy weakened.