Yale: A History

by Brooks Mather Kelley

This lively history of Yale traces the development of the college from its founding in 1701 by a small group of Puritan clergymen intent on preserving the purity of the faith in Connecticut, to its survival in the eighteenth century as a center for intellectual life, to its expansion in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a major international university. "For tasting one of the well-springs of a peculiarly American version of higher learning, A History is clearly to be recommended to readers anywhere. It will be read with profit as well as enjoyment."― Times Higher Education Supplement "Kelley sustains [his] theme well and reconstructs the institutional development of Yale with considerable skill and empathy. . . . A very informative book."― Journal of American History "Useful both for those primarily interested in Yale as an institution and for students of the history of higher education generally." ―The Historian "A readable, accurate synthesis of Yale's internal history, fully comparable to the best single-volume treatments of other major universities."― Times Literary Supplement

600 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1974

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a history in chronological order of the presidents of Yale. It would have been a more interesting read if there was some variety in the presentation of the material. The book could have been divided by comparison of presidents, changes in student body over the years, development of the curriculum and the college, etc.

[Laila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable history of Yale. My version of Hogwarts: A History.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covering Yale’s history from inception to Griswold’s 1963 death, Kelley seems to cover almost everything. However I found that things of personal interest such as the physical campus development, early sports successes, and goofy historical anecdotes are lightly touched upon whereas he goes into excruciating detail about policy of governance, endowment strategies and, more interesting, the trails and tribulations of developing the proper curriculum for the Yale undergrad. The early history – the first century roughly – is also a bit limited due to the obvious dearth of research material, but Kelley still weaves what’s there into a comprehensive narrative. I was hoping/assuming this would continue through the Brewster years up to the date of publication (1973 – thus covering the sundry issues of the late 1960s) as there was still about a ¾ inch stack of pages post-Griswold. But, alas, these were merely the notes. Highly recommended for Yalies who have ample time on their hands.

[Scott Caplan]

graduation gift.

You can tell it's a good history because it includes reference to the Conic Sections Rebellion of 1828 in the index!

[Helen]

For obvious reasons haha. I love my school and it has a fabulous history! :oP