What do you think?
Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik reveals how America’s elite universities, once proud symbols of academic excellence, have become centers of far-left indoctrination, division, and moral rot in this riveting, behind-the-scenes inside account. Drawing on her experience as the highest-ranking woman in Congress and the chief questioner of Ivy League university presidents in the hearing heard around the world, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik exposes the failures of American higher education and the reckoning facing universities.
For decades, conservatives have warned about the decline of higher education. Now, for the first time in modern history, Americans are taking action.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Harvard alumna herself, lit the fuse when she posed basic questions to the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania, such Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s rules on bullying and harassment? Their inability to answer with moral clarity sparked a national reckoning causing multiple Ivy League presidents to resign. It was the most-watched Congressional hearing of all time. But that was just the beginning.
Poisoned Ivies delivers an unflinching account of what has gone wrong on America’s college campuses. Stefanik exposes how the nation’s most prestigious institutions abandoned their founding ideals of freedom of thought, open debate, and academic excellence, and instead embraced a culture of censorship, radical leftist groupthink, antisemitism, and moral cowardice that has spread far beyond campus walls to every corner of American life.
Both a damning exposé and a blueprint for reform, Poisoned Ivies is a timely story of courage and conviction and the power of one voice to challenge the status quo in American higher education and delivers a long-overdue reckoning. A must-read for anyone concerned with the fight for our nation’s soul.
For decades, conservatives have warned about the decline of higher education. Now, for the first time in modern history, Americans are taking action.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Harvard alumna herself, lit the fuse when she posed basic questions to the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania, such Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s rules on bullying and harassment? Their inability to answer with moral clarity sparked a national reckoning causing multiple Ivy League presidents to resign. It was the most-watched Congressional hearing of all time. But that was just the beginning.
Poisoned Ivies delivers an unflinching account of what has gone wrong on America’s college campuses. Stefanik exposes how the nation’s most prestigious institutions abandoned their founding ideals of freedom of thought, open debate, and academic excellence, and instead embraced a culture of censorship, radical leftist groupthink, antisemitism, and moral cowardice that has spread far beyond campus walls to every corner of American life.
Both a damning exposé and a blueprint for reform, Poisoned Ivies is a timely story of courage and conviction and the power of one voice to challenge the status quo in American higher education and delivers a long-overdue reckoning. A must-read for anyone concerned with the fight for our nation’s soul.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 14, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
April 15, 2026
Excellent account of the moral rot on some university campuses. It's important to read to the end because she lists many campuses that are NOT guilty, i.e. Dartmouth, Univ of Florida, and what they are doing to fight anti-semitism.
April 19, 2026
Not exactly surprising given what we all see coming out of our Ivy League universities today, but this quick read was a good resource on an important topic.
April 19, 2026
The October 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel ended up as a watershed moment for American higher education, showing how clearly antisemitism had woven itself onto prominent universities. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik did some amazing work in Congress in peeling back the curtain and showing exactly how higher education is failing, not just Jews, but everyone. It’s a good read that makes you think. I gave it four stars because it seems to place a little too much emphasis on one question from one Congressional hearing. But overall, this shows why American higher education is in decline and how we can change that.
July 25, 2026
Congresswoman Stefanik has written a book that was needed for our troubling times and violence against Jews in the USA. Sadly, too, it is our Ivy League Universities that are ignoring said violence.
Ms. Stefanik questioned many of these Ivy League University presidents, before a House Committee, to inquire about the non action taken against the perpetrators against Jewish students. Dr. Gay, president at Harvard, testified under oath, that Harvard does not condone violence. But she argued that it was question of free speech to attack Jewish Students.
Each of the various Ivy Leagues presidents testified with similar comments has Dr. Gay.
Ms. Stefanik questioned many of these Ivy League University presidents, before a House Committee, to inquire about the non action taken against the perpetrators against Jewish students. Dr. Gay, president at Harvard, testified under oath, that Harvard does not condone violence. But she argued that it was question of free speech to attack Jewish Students.
Each of the various Ivy Leagues presidents testified with similar comments has Dr. Gay.
April 23, 2026
This book promises to expose problems at elite schools but disappoints. The book feels more like a political attack than a fair, fact-based investigation. It repeats the same points a lot and uses few reliable sources, so many claims seem oversimplified or one-sided. The tone is angry and confrontational, which will put off readers looking for a calm, balanced look at the issues. Fans of the author's views might like it, but most readers wanting clear evidence and careful reasoning will probably be let down. As a middle of the road independent with an open mind I was disappointed.
April 15, 2026
The book was a PERFECT look into the protected world of Liberal schools. I'm sure many of those anti free speech advocates are review bombing this book right now. See for yourself the brilliance of a woman like Elise fighting for academic honesty in a corrupt, liberal ivy League world.
May 5, 2026
Not easy to listen to. Story after story of the horrendous anti-Semitism that took over universities immediately following Hamas' terror attack on Oct 7th, and the cowardly or depraved presidents of these Ivy League schools who allowed, condoned, or encouraged it. I am glad she mentioned some other university presidents who enforced their policies and protected the Jewish students. It revealed that it could be done.
As much as I utterly despise Donald Trump, I am glad to hear he is holding some universities' feet to the fire for discrimination, extreme anti-Semitism, and rabid anti-American sentiment, and is challenging DEI.
As much as I utterly despise Donald Trump, I am glad to hear he is holding some universities' feet to the fire for discrimination, extreme anti-Semitism, and rabid anti-American sentiment, and is challenging DEI.
May 28, 2026
I watched these hearings televised live and was incredibly impressed with Elise Stefanik’s commitment to exposing moral rot and antisemitism on college campuses. I appreciated more of the examples she went into in this book, but it also felt self-congratulatory and left-bashing, both of which took away from the power and importance of her messsge.
July 9, 2026
this would be a great crash course if i didn't already know everything in this prior.
Read
April 17, 2026If you didn’t follow the hearings or been following what has been going on since n higher learning take a listen or read this
Audio
Audio
June 6, 2026
I just finished reading Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities by Elise Stefanik. Congresswoman Stefanie laid out the recent history of deterioration of Ivy League and similar colleges. These colleges out tolerated violence and bullying against Jewish people, and political conservatives. This book is a brilliant expose specifically of the mishandling of the wave of anti-Jewish campus activity in the wake of the October 7, 2023 massacres and generally of rising discrimination against Jews and other successful minority groups.
The book focused on Harvard, Columbia and university of Pennsylvania,whose presidents she questioned under oath before her Congressional committee. They were shorter segments on other colleges such as Yale and Brown. It was also a discussion of colleges that have handled matters well, including Dartmouth and Vanderbilt.
As many know, Congresswoman Stefanik asked questions of college presidents as to whether or not antisemitic bullying and violence would violate campus codes of conduct. The president uniform said “it depends on the context.“ The thesis of her book is that there is an absence of any concept of right or wrong on many, but not all campuses.
My criticism of the book is that in my view, having gone to an Ivy League college in the second half of the 1970s, there were similar problems. Without a functioning Internet, they just were not as well known. Additionally, the book lays out societal suggestions, but no guidance for parents whose children are approaching college age. I give this book a 4 1/2, rounded down to four.
The book focused on Harvard, Columbia and university of Pennsylvania,whose presidents she questioned under oath before her Congressional committee. They were shorter segments on other colleges such as Yale and Brown. It was also a discussion of colleges that have handled matters well, including Dartmouth and Vanderbilt.
As many know, Congresswoman Stefanik asked questions of college presidents as to whether or not antisemitic bullying and violence would violate campus codes of conduct. The president uniform said “it depends on the context.“ The thesis of her book is that there is an absence of any concept of right or wrong on many, but not all campuses.
My criticism of the book is that in my view, having gone to an Ivy League college in the second half of the 1970s, there were similar problems. Without a functioning Internet, they just were not as well known. Additionally, the book lays out societal suggestions, but no guidance for parents whose children are approaching college age. I give this book a 4 1/2, rounded down to four.
Read
May 9, 2026I fail to Understand
This is a great book to explain the U.S. response to the 10-7 massacre in Israel by Hamas. I especially liked the examination of anti-Jewish propaganda and harassment at American universities and colleges. I thought for a while that I was reading chapters in Exodus by Leon Uris pertaining to the late 19th and early 20th centuries' activities in what became the British Mandate after WWI. Except the players were reversed. I have never understood Jew hatred from time immemorial. I thought I was reading a version of the Dreyfuss affair. SMH.
This is a great book to explain the U.S. response to the 10-7 massacre in Israel by Hamas. I especially liked the examination of anti-Jewish propaganda and harassment at American universities and colleges. I thought for a while that I was reading chapters in Exodus by Leon Uris pertaining to the late 19th and early 20th centuries' activities in what became the British Mandate after WWI. Except the players were reversed. I have never understood Jew hatred from time immemorial. I thought I was reading a version of the Dreyfuss affair. SMH.
April 22, 2026
This book was a great summary of what is going on in college campuses and some instances the United States today. Stefanik is a great writer who has lived through these racial protestors at Harvard and was able to put the ivory towers accountable for these actions.
June 11, 2026
I can't really say I loved this book, because as a former educator, the rot and decay of our educational system is sickening. The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is because I got lost in some of the statistics. There was so much- which is substantiating her claims, but I was occasionally overwhelmed. Otherwise, incredibly eye opening and completely frustrating. I can only hope this stirs the general populace to ACTION. Here are all the notes I took as I read. It's a lot, yes, but wow do we need to overhaul our ENTIRE school system.
Historically, Ivy League colleges were known for their institutional prestige, academic excellence, esteemed faculty, rigorous and extremely selective admissions processes, groundbreaking research, and extraordinarily successful alumni networks. They were the crown jewels of the education system worldwide. They were considered bastions of knowledge and vibrant intellectual life. Today, however, most Americans understand the Ivy League schools to be hotbeds of radical ideology, groundless elitism, intellectual laziness, and anti-American hatred. Students are not only showing up academically unprepared, but they are leaving uneducated, unemployable, radicalized, and deeply out of touch with American values. Today, much of what passes for education at top universities is specifically designed to instill hostility toward the United States, our Founders, and our founding ideals. An institution that helped educate the men who put their lives at stake for liberty and equality is now a breeding ground of race hatred and violence. And unfortunately, what happened at these schools wasn’t the exception- it was the rule…it set the tone and standard, and most other higher education institutions across the country have followed suit.
Faculty often use the hiring process to police ideological boundaries and instead of hiring for diversity, they hire for conformity. Political bias and fear of reprisals can shift entire fields of research over time. When faculty all agree on a political agenda, or when certain assumptions go unchallenged, it hurts scholarship by promoting orthodoxy and discouraging dissent. Scholars then come to confuse their political biases with established scientific facts, which creates a more dangerous situation. As we have all seen in recent years, this sort of thinking has also infected the natural sciences as well.
Activism has come at the cost of education. Students are not learning the skills in the classroom that once defined a college graduate. The not so hidden agenda of DEI: it’s NOT about securing greater justice or equality. It’s mostly about wielding a club against people and views that the progressive activists do not like. DEI is a magic wand to turn ordinary people into racists, bigots, transphobes, islamophobes, and more.
CRT also inundated the system. First, they see racism everywhere. Nothing is untouched by the pollution of racism. If a tool, system or institution claims to be neutral, it has only failed to recognize its own internal bias. Second, to prove oppression one need only show disparity between groups. So if one group performs better on tests than another group, it MUST be the result of bias somewhere in the educational system. Finally equity must be imposed. Equity is not equality, which is about opportunities. Equity is about outcomes. They expect equal outcomes of everyone, regardless of any/all factors.
A study by Network Contagion Research Institute found that exposure to DEI materials can actually “engender a hostile attribution bias and. Heighten racial suspicion, prejudicial attitudes, authoritarian policing, and support for punitive behaviors in the absence of evidence for a transgression deserving punishment.” DEI’s hierarchy of victimhood has encouraged a campus climate of suspicion, discrimination and ultimately civil rights violations.
Courses recently/currently offered: *Princeton- “ Black + Queer in leather: Black Leather and BDSM Material Culture” *Cornell- “Natural History of the Magic Kingdom: Understanding Animal Behaviour Through Animated Films” (which include studying the Lion King, and Queer Girlhood using Barbie and the PowerPuff Girls cartoons. These are only two examples. It's ridiculous.
Not only are students now showing up to colleges academically unprepared, but they are leaving uneducated, unemployable, radicalized, and deeply out of touch with American values.
The campuses are now characterized as completely bereft of freedom of thought, obsessed with politically correct DEI, and a purging and silencing of conservative voices and viewpoints.
Campuses now all have safe spaces and “trigger warnings” intended to ease the burden on students of having to encounter perspectives that they might find uncomfortable because they are different than their own. They have become obsessed with making students feel as “safe” as possibly- not physically, but emotionally. This has ultimately created extreme weakness.
A vast majority of students on college campuses now say “using violence to stop campus speech is acceptable”…which is a stunning statistic and even more disturbing after the Charlie Kirk assassination (in which the main purpose of his events was to engage in respectful discourse and peaceful debate). Many, including some elected officials, CELEBRATED the loss of his life, saying it was somehow justified and deserved.
*University of Pennsylvania: Their latin motto: “Laws without moral are in vain.” Ironic, given what is being promoted.
Americans want academic exceptionalism, not indoctrination.
“The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.” ~Thomas Sowell
Historically, Ivy League colleges were known for their institutional prestige, academic excellence, esteemed faculty, rigorous and extremely selective admissions processes, groundbreaking research, and extraordinarily successful alumni networks. They were the crown jewels of the education system worldwide. They were considered bastions of knowledge and vibrant intellectual life. Today, however, most Americans understand the Ivy League schools to be hotbeds of radical ideology, groundless elitism, intellectual laziness, and anti-American hatred. Students are not only showing up academically unprepared, but they are leaving uneducated, unemployable, radicalized, and deeply out of touch with American values. Today, much of what passes for education at top universities is specifically designed to instill hostility toward the United States, our Founders, and our founding ideals. An institution that helped educate the men who put their lives at stake for liberty and equality is now a breeding ground of race hatred and violence. And unfortunately, what happened at these schools wasn’t the exception- it was the rule…it set the tone and standard, and most other higher education institutions across the country have followed suit.
Faculty often use the hiring process to police ideological boundaries and instead of hiring for diversity, they hire for conformity. Political bias and fear of reprisals can shift entire fields of research over time. When faculty all agree on a political agenda, or when certain assumptions go unchallenged, it hurts scholarship by promoting orthodoxy and discouraging dissent. Scholars then come to confuse their political biases with established scientific facts, which creates a more dangerous situation. As we have all seen in recent years, this sort of thinking has also infected the natural sciences as well.
Activism has come at the cost of education. Students are not learning the skills in the classroom that once defined a college graduate. The not so hidden agenda of DEI: it’s NOT about securing greater justice or equality. It’s mostly about wielding a club against people and views that the progressive activists do not like. DEI is a magic wand to turn ordinary people into racists, bigots, transphobes, islamophobes, and more.
CRT also inundated the system. First, they see racism everywhere. Nothing is untouched by the pollution of racism. If a tool, system or institution claims to be neutral, it has only failed to recognize its own internal bias. Second, to prove oppression one need only show disparity between groups. So if one group performs better on tests than another group, it MUST be the result of bias somewhere in the educational system. Finally equity must be imposed. Equity is not equality, which is about opportunities. Equity is about outcomes. They expect equal outcomes of everyone, regardless of any/all factors.
A study by Network Contagion Research Institute found that exposure to DEI materials can actually “engender a hostile attribution bias and. Heighten racial suspicion, prejudicial attitudes, authoritarian policing, and support for punitive behaviors in the absence of evidence for a transgression deserving punishment.” DEI’s hierarchy of victimhood has encouraged a campus climate of suspicion, discrimination and ultimately civil rights violations.
Courses recently/currently offered: *Princeton- “ Black + Queer in leather: Black Leather and BDSM Material Culture” *Cornell- “Natural History of the Magic Kingdom: Understanding Animal Behaviour Through Animated Films” (which include studying the Lion King, and Queer Girlhood using Barbie and the PowerPuff Girls cartoons. These are only two examples. It's ridiculous.
Not only are students now showing up to colleges academically unprepared, but they are leaving uneducated, unemployable, radicalized, and deeply out of touch with American values.
The campuses are now characterized as completely bereft of freedom of thought, obsessed with politically correct DEI, and a purging and silencing of conservative voices and viewpoints.
Campuses now all have safe spaces and “trigger warnings” intended to ease the burden on students of having to encounter perspectives that they might find uncomfortable because they are different than their own. They have become obsessed with making students feel as “safe” as possibly- not physically, but emotionally. This has ultimately created extreme weakness.
A vast majority of students on college campuses now say “using violence to stop campus speech is acceptable”…which is a stunning statistic and even more disturbing after the Charlie Kirk assassination (in which the main purpose of his events was to engage in respectful discourse and peaceful debate). Many, including some elected officials, CELEBRATED the loss of his life, saying it was somehow justified and deserved.
*University of Pennsylvania: Their latin motto: “Laws without moral are in vain.” Ironic, given what is being promoted.
Americans want academic exceptionalism, not indoctrination.
“The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.” ~Thomas Sowell
August 22, 2026
What a riveting rollercoaster.
A great extra in the audiobook version: In the appendix we hear the actual hearings (those that were "heard around the world") with the real voices. I imagine it is even more impressive to hear this than just to read transcripts.
Anyway, I‘m convinced we‘ll see a lot more of Genesis 12:3 at work in those institutions that drive out Jewish students and staff.
And of the blessing on Elise and others like her.
I wish we had a dozen or more Elise Stefaniks in our German parliament!
BTW: I‘d like to swap two Yale t-shirts for one from Dartmouth. :)
A great extra in the audiobook version: In the appendix we hear the actual hearings (those that were "heard around the world") with the real voices. I imagine it is even more impressive to hear this than just to read transcripts.
Anyway, I‘m convinced we‘ll see a lot more of Genesis 12:3 at work in those institutions that drive out Jewish students and staff.
And of the blessing on Elise and others like her.
I wish we had a dozen or more Elise Stefaniks in our German parliament!
BTW: I‘d like to swap two Yale t-shirts for one from Dartmouth. :)
August 10, 2026
I consider myself pretty middle of the road and have both liberal and conservative viewpoints and perspectives in my life. I have two college age kids. Reading this book and page after page after page written by an author and politician, who is very righteous and right wing in her opinion.. at some point reading this book I thought I’ve had enough of you and I simply closed the book and moved onto something else and thought what a shame that she hasn’t taken the time to invest in a conversation with individuals that seemingly have a different point of view than she does. I can’t think of any other word to summarize the book other than once sidedness.
May 22, 2026
In 2025, numerous United States universities and colleges, including elite Ivy League campuses, experienced major shutdowns and violent attacks because of Hamas’s barbaric attack on civilians in Israel on October 07, 2023. Students were blocking buildings, setting up tents on communal locations, and vandalizing many students at the colleges. Jewish students were being threatened and attacked because of their religion. The protesters set up tents which lasted for several days.
These activities were not about a Hamas’s actions. They were about Israel’s response which brought suffering to Gazan civilians. The protests were organized by antisemitic leaders, some of whom were students at those schools.
As a result, Congress called a committee hearing to investigate. Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York State, was a Harvard graduate. She became the chief questioner.
In POISONED IVIES, Elise Stefanik thoroughly examines what lead to the ability of the students to carry out these assaults. Freedom of speech was the most aspect.
I read the appendix of the book before I read the book itself. It contains testimony, including that from college Presidents at Harvard, MIT, The University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Northwestern at U.S. House Committee meetings on December 5, 2023, April 17, 2024, and May 23. 2024.
The responses to the congressional questions were astounding and led to major reactions throughout the country. The most common response from the respondents was “it depends on the context.” In other words, they were saying that taking over a college campus, intimidation, assaults, vandalism, and threats against students based on their religion was okay depending on the context. Freedom of speech was most important aspect.
Stefanik discussed several causes for the changes of College campuses over the years. One was grade inflation. The major importance, however, was the addition of billions of dollars of foreign money and foreign students in United States universities. This influenced what was being taught.The primary donors were Qatar and China. In some cases, there were more foreign students than American students enrolled, many of whom did not pay tuition.
Stefanik examined what created the acceptance of these types of activities and the lack of accountability on campuses.
I also looked at many reviews of the book. I was surprised to see that most of the low reviews were given by people who were upset because Jews were the victims. If they had been Black, Hispanic, or Arab, would the people be upset about all the about the protests?
My biggest criticism of the book is that Elise Stefanik spent too much time praising Donald Trump.
I also looked at many reviews of the book. I was surprised to see that most of the low reviews were given by people who were upset because Jews were the victims. If the targets had been Black, Hispanic, or Arab, I wonder what if their ratings would have been higher. .
These activities were not about a Hamas’s actions. They were about Israel’s response which brought suffering to Gazan civilians. The protests were organized by antisemitic leaders, some of whom were students at those schools.
As a result, Congress called a committee hearing to investigate. Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York State, was a Harvard graduate. She became the chief questioner.
In POISONED IVIES, Elise Stefanik thoroughly examines what lead to the ability of the students to carry out these assaults. Freedom of speech was the most aspect.
I read the appendix of the book before I read the book itself. It contains testimony, including that from college Presidents at Harvard, MIT, The University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Northwestern at U.S. House Committee meetings on December 5, 2023, April 17, 2024, and May 23. 2024.
The responses to the congressional questions were astounding and led to major reactions throughout the country. The most common response from the respondents was “it depends on the context.” In other words, they were saying that taking over a college campus, intimidation, assaults, vandalism, and threats against students based on their religion was okay depending on the context. Freedom of speech was most important aspect.
Stefanik discussed several causes for the changes of College campuses over the years. One was grade inflation. The major importance, however, was the addition of billions of dollars of foreign money and foreign students in United States universities. This influenced what was being taught.The primary donors were Qatar and China. In some cases, there were more foreign students than American students enrolled, many of whom did not pay tuition.
Stefanik examined what created the acceptance of these types of activities and the lack of accountability on campuses.
I also looked at many reviews of the book. I was surprised to see that most of the low reviews were given by people who were upset because Jews were the victims. If they had been Black, Hispanic, or Arab, would the people be upset about all the about the protests?
My biggest criticism of the book is that Elise Stefanik spent too much time praising Donald Trump.
I also looked at many reviews of the book. I was surprised to see that most of the low reviews were given by people who were upset because Jews were the victims. If the targets had been Black, Hispanic, or Arab, I wonder what if their ratings would have been higher. .
June 14, 2026
Wow…
My husband and I listened to this book.
1-Elise Stefanik is just phenomenal. Her background, her hard work, her intellectual gifts, her command of the English language, and her moral clarity on a wide range of issues are beyond impressive. Just listening to her (I listened to this book, and she narrated it) made me want to up my intellectual game, she is just an inspiring human being.
2-my husband and I listened to the first half of this book together on a road trip. He didn’t want to finish it. He was so angry and upset. I admit I had to put it down and step away for a while, but my OCD wouldn’t let me not complete it, and I admit I was hoping for some good news at the end. It was hard to listen to. So many friends have children who have dealt with these issues on college campuses over the past few years. Our daughter dealt with numerous instances at the University of Denver at the graduate level. Questioning or disagreeing with policies/political leaders in any country is absolutely fair game. The thought rot, and uninformed group vandalism & targeting which has been funded by countries, historically, vocalizing hatred of the US is not ok.
3-Elise Stefanik did a phenomenal job of breaking this down. She covered the history of how we got here, the level to which the poison has leaked into the academic body in the US, as well as identifying what can and should be done about this issue, and the larger picture of the American educational system.
Excellent, I highly recommend.
My husband and I listened to this book.
1-Elise Stefanik is just phenomenal. Her background, her hard work, her intellectual gifts, her command of the English language, and her moral clarity on a wide range of issues are beyond impressive. Just listening to her (I listened to this book, and she narrated it) made me want to up my intellectual game, she is just an inspiring human being.
2-my husband and I listened to the first half of this book together on a road trip. He didn’t want to finish it. He was so angry and upset. I admit I had to put it down and step away for a while, but my OCD wouldn’t let me not complete it, and I admit I was hoping for some good news at the end. It was hard to listen to. So many friends have children who have dealt with these issues on college campuses over the past few years. Our daughter dealt with numerous instances at the University of Denver at the graduate level. Questioning or disagreeing with policies/political leaders in any country is absolutely fair game. The thought rot, and uninformed group vandalism & targeting which has been funded by countries, historically, vocalizing hatred of the US is not ok.
3-Elise Stefanik did a phenomenal job of breaking this down. She covered the history of how we got here, the level to which the poison has leaked into the academic body in the US, as well as identifying what can and should be done about this issue, and the larger picture of the American educational system.
Excellent, I highly recommend.
June 14, 2026
An important read
May 31, 2026
Representative Stefanik presents a critique of the responses of major universities across the country to the October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli civilians. In doing so, she provides well-documented examples that the actions were a continuation of a longer history of "moral rot" (her words) existing in higher education. Although sometimes falling into a pattern of praising the current administration and berating the previous one, as well as some self-aggrandizement, Stefanik provides compelling evidence for a lack of diversity of thought and a lack of tolerance within ivy league schools.
(Through pure coincidence, at the same time I also read "Israel:What Went Wrong", by Omer Bartov, which, although not specifically about higher education, provides a train of thought that illustrates Stefanik's concerns. I urge the readers to also see the review of this book).
(Through pure coincidence, at the same time I also read "Israel:What Went Wrong", by Omer Bartov, which, although not specifically about higher education, provides a train of thought that illustrates Stefanik's concerns. I urge the readers to also see the review of this book).
May 3, 2026
Thank you Congresswoman Stefanik for everything you have done to fight antisemitism. You have no idea what your voice means to our family. This book is a phenomenal account of the sickening rot in our educational system, that you have brought to light. I pray that we can get past this. It is brave people like yourselves that give us hope and light. My daughter is a freshman at a school in the south- and could not be happier about this decision, for the exact reasons you highlight so well in the book. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I pray that everyone reads this book to better understand what is going on with our educational system.
June 1, 2026
I had read most of this as it was happening in Harvard and Columbia. I was not aware of the extent in other schools. It is mostly a clear account of what happened on college campuses post Oct 7. Its chapter on why Ivy Leagues have become this way I found a bit lacking. I wish she’d dove into some of the journalism about the lack of academic standards as well. Finally what to do next was only a single chapter.
I would recommend this, but if you’ve been following the coverage of this you won’t hear new information
I would recommend this, but if you’ve been following the coverage of this you won’t hear new information
May 9, 2026
A HEALTHY READ
Finally an analysis of the deep seated ideology of American universities.
Over the last 60 years a creeping disease has infected the very roots of higher learning ..
What a situation we have given birth and nurture too.
Time for a review of the fundamental soil that America needs.
Finally an analysis of the deep seated ideology of American universities.
Over the last 60 years a creeping disease has infected the very roots of higher learning ..
What a situation we have given birth and nurture too.
Time for a review of the fundamental soil that America needs.
May 24, 2026
This a very thorough accounting of what has been happening lately in the top universities in America. I appreciated hearing a first person account by Congresswomen Stefanik, who narrated the audiobook very well. If you’ve been paying attention to the news the last few years none of this will be particularly new information but I appreciate her take on the topic.
May 1, 2026
A bit repetitive at times but the message MUST get through! Thank you Elise Stefanik. After 3 years of being gaslit by friends and acquaintances, I feel seen in these pages. Sadly the people who NEED to read this book won’t bother, I still appreciate that it exists.
May 10, 2026
An eye-opening and shocking report on the lack of morality and common sense by leaders of the most esteemed universities in the US. Elise Stefanik is incredible. I enjoyed the congressional hearing part at the end.
April 16, 2026
Pure propaganda - any relevant point she starts to make is quickly overshadowed by her self-serving motive for this unbalanced account
April 23, 2026
Takes advantage of real antisemitism to further her ulterior motives and political standing. This topic deserves more discussion though.
May 4, 2026
Excellent eye opening on colleges
Read
May 8, 2026I had no idea there was such a problem with the elite universities.Glad that Elise alerted me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews