"This book SHOULD be required. Bell and McGrane have created a lively, insightful, and tangible source that the student can utilize in the classroom and in life. They want to read the book because it speaks to them and provides me a classroom full of hungry, alert minds."

- Melanie C. Klein, California State University, Northridge

This Book Is Not Required: An Emotional Survival Manual for Students, Third Edition invites students to examine their college education - what it could be and what, alas, it often is. This book does not look at the four years of college merely in terms of the formal world of classes and professors. It looks at the larger experience of college life and its affect on students during these four years. After all, some of the most important learning in college takes place outside of the classroom.

This Book Is Not Required has been regarded as a powerful tool to introduce students to the sociological analysis and personal reflection of college life. Now in its Third Edition, the book continues to educate students on the college experience as a whole-looking at the personal, social, intellectual, and spiritual demands and opportunities presented by college life. In a personable and refreshingly straightforward style, authors Inge Bell, Bernard McGrane, and John Gunderson critically discuss how academic life distinguishes between learning the institutional rules of higher education and internalizing those rules. The book demystifies professors and teaching assistants by discussing their institutional roles and incentives and invites students to take responsibility for-and make the most of-their educational experiences.

Key Features

Real-life student vignettes honestly address actual issues facing college students
Two new chapters, "Welcome to College" (Chapter 1) and "Questions of Academic Integrity" (Chapter 5), explore the increased prevalence of cheating on campus due to the Internet
Encourages a participatory college education and personal reflection for students in many different disciplines

This Book Is Not Required is a valuable guidebook for any student new to the college experience. It is also an excellent text for Freshman Orientation programs and for a number of courses in Sociology, Psychology, and Personal Adjustment.

(20040810)

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 10 reviews)

Get an earlier, cheaper, and better edition if you can

Twenty years ago, I read an earlier, and much less
expensive, edition of this book. Shortly thereafter,
the book and I parted company. Too bad. I have not seen
the book since. What brings me to this webpage and what
constitutes this review is what I remember: "When you
start to think of your life in terms of a career, worry
and anxiety will be your constant partners"
(paraphrasing from memory). So true. Nonetheless,
college remains a happy memory for me, whatever the
grades I earned back then were. The secret, I think, is
having the right perspective. Inge Bell might be able
to help. At least, she's worth a try.

Another reviewer faults the book for including
Buddhism and socialism. I do remember the Buddhism. It
was my first and only exposure to that religion. I
appreciate that, though the religion is not for me.

Suggestion: look for a used copy of an EARLIER (first
or second) edition. Five stars for those editions.
Looking at those pages of the current (third) edition
visible on amazon, it appears that newly-added
coauthors Bernard McGrane and John Gunderson have added
lots and lots of words. Ugh. They probably have
doctorates in education. Three stars for it. It seems
to be not so "underground" anymore, though you might
still find it useful. Insist on Inge alone, if you can
get it.
January 09, 2005

If Only I had Heard of This Book 4 Years Ago

This was an excellent book! I am nearing the end of my undergraduate degree now and plan to pursue a Master's degree. This book helped me to put my life and my goals into perspective. For the greater part of my life, I have become obsessed with grades and the pusuit of things to add to my resume that will ensure myself of getting into a good grad school and being awarded with a good career upon graduation. I disagree with readers who criticize Bell for being one-sided in her anti-institionalism (some say socialist) arguements. Common sense tells most students that grades are important because the reality is that our educational background and subsequent GPA help determine where we end up in life after university. The point is though that these things HELP but they are not the be-all-end-all nor should they be. It takes much more to define a person and build their character. In North American society, as young people we are constantly bombarded with the pressures of accomplishment and achievement through school and work. Of course, these are more than noble goals but when is it ever enough? This is what I see as the main point of the book and the author is sending us a warning to "stop and smell the roses" in life before we end up directionless and unfilled. Great addition to every young person's reading list!
October 23, 2003

I wish it would have been required in 1986!!!!

Being a non-traditional student, I needed this years ago. This would have uncovered the mystery of College for me as a teenager and explained so much that College courses just do not offer to Freshmen. I will hand this down to my children and encourage any parent to purchase it for all High School Seniors.
September 18, 2003

Survival Manual is an understatement

This is a great book. It makes a great high school graduation gift for any kid about to go off to college. I wish I'd been able to read it before I began my undergraduate education. It points out a lot of pitfalls and potential problems that most recent high school grads are totally oblivious to in addition to reminding people there's more to living than trying to make the dean's list every semester. You need friends, you need a real life, you need to be comfortable with who you are.
May 22, 2002

Lifesaving and Lifechanging

Reading this book for the first time (I have read it many times since) I was most impacted by the chapter on grades. Bell hits the nail on the head: the entire system of grading, whether necessary for ranking students or not, does influence the way students perceive themselves. True learning happens when one is free from the quest for an A...when one is learning for the learning's sake.

This book is an excellent emotional and psychological lifesaver for any high school, college, or grad student. I love this book!
January 11, 2002

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology
by John J. Macionis, Nijole V. Benokraitis

The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge
by Peter L. Berger, Thomas Luckmann

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama

Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life
by David M. Newman

The Un-TV and the 10 Mph Car: Experiments in Personal Freedom and Everyday Life
by Bernard McGrane