Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor

Mike Adams (Professor, UNC-Wilmington) writes in a very entertaining manner, which is simultaneously entertaining and educating (and often very funny). I am the child of a Professor in the UNC system (UNC-Charlotte) and while things have clearly become loonier since I was close to the system I am, unfortunately, completely unsurprised by anything Adams writes. The book is largely a collection of letters and editorials Adams wrote over a protracted period of time, and culminates in a lengthy recollection of charges of libel from a socialist student (and her parents) that should serve as a cautionary tale to participants in university systems everywhere. The single best thing about this book is how Adams instructs conservative students (and non-tenured faculty members, who really are on the spot) to defeat ridiculous charges of racism, homophobia, and insensitivity. Generally these lessons come from his own experiences (for example, look at the scorn he faced over the California Proposition 187 issue from the other Professors), but in a few cases he offers direct and useful advice to others. He is always well reasoned, and thinks for himself (he's a Republican from Texas who opposes the death penalty, after all) which there should be more of in academia today. While many on the left will not like this book, I see their charges against Adams and other conservatives to be disingenuous at best, and hypocritical at worst. The left claims they want "diversity," but clearly want no diversity of thought amongst faculty. This book is a must-read for anyone even tangentially interested in higher education in the United States today.

After reading Mike S. Adams's "Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor," I'm extraordinarily happy I went to school in Nebraska. My state, you see, is pretty darn conservative. Even liberals out here would classify as moderate Republicans nearly anywhere else in the country. My university, dependant on grants from a conservative legislature elected by even more conservative taxpayers, always seemed to avoid the worst of the left-wing pabulum that infects most college campuses across the nation. Oh sure, there were a few radicals on campus that used their classrooms as pulpits from which they spread the diversity/gender/multiculturalist agenda. But they were few and far between. Most professors, even extremely liberal ones, kept their politics out of the classroom. I can think of a few instructors who I absolutely suspected were liberals and/or far left-wing kooks, but to this day I couldn't tell you for sure because they NEVER discussed their beliefs unless the students asked after class. Not bad, eh? I think I received a better education than any Ivy League student since my courses dealt with facts and legitimate theories rather than touchy-feely platitudes about race and gender wrapped up in hate whitey rhetoric. Professor Adams doesn't seem to enjoy the environment I thrived in. A tenured member of the department of criminal justice at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Adams has had plenty of time to observe the insanity that passes for higher education in this country. It's not a pretty picture. Most of the book takes the form of letters Adams wrote to various officials in and out of the university objecting to the latest outburst of left-wing wackiness. For example, the good professor pens an epistle pointing out his concerns with a recent debate concerning affirmative action. The problem? It wasn't a debate. A debate means two speakers arguing the ins and outs of an issue. Only one speaker, decidedly pro-affirmative action, was given any time to speak. Then there is the letter--actually more than one--describing the influence of feminist scholars on campus. One professor accused a department chairman of sexual harassment before going on to describe how someone kept breaking into her office to vandalize her wristwatch. Whether these ominous events occurred before or after another evildoer attempted to poison a feminist instructor by pumping poison gas into her office is unclear. Other letters cover the problems Adams encountered when he put conservative stickers on his office door, campus "racism," and attempts by the university to squash campus religious organizations. The second part of the book deals with an unpleasant situation Adams ran into shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A pro-communist student sent him an e-mail blaming America for the disasters in New York and Washington, D.C. Moreover, she encouraged him to forward the message to others. Adams obliged

Dr. Mike Adams writes clearly, honestly and in today's educational and political context.His premise regards the loss of Constitutional rights within the "higher learning" system of today's tax supported university system. His experience as a Criminal Justice Professor at University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) provides the background and dramatic insight into what is wrong in education today.He has taken personal experiences, letters, emails, and other correspondence and woven them into a book that should have been published long ago by others involved in higher education.The content of his book is drawn from his deeply personal experience with students, fellow faculty members and the UNCW administration.His background, from liberal to conservative, is well and honestly documented.Dr. Adams provides irrefutable, documented facts demonstrating that the liberal education establishment is actively engaged in promoting the liberal/left-wing agenda, and smothering free speech and open discourse for those who do not adhere to the liberal line. Those free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America. That university students subjected to same are hearing and seeing only one side of their purported education, becomes obvious as one reads his carefully documented references.Dr. Adams did not, in my opinion, write this book for self aggrandizement, but only to inform the public of what their children are subjected to at university, and how their tax dollars are spent at public institutions. He is sincere in his desire to see that open discourse is allowed for all students, professors and the campus organizations to which they belong. Open and free speech for all, as described in his book, is what I believe is the true meaning of "diversity".All parents of current or prospective students of higher education and those whose taxes support public colleges and universities should read Dr. Adams book.

This book discusses important free speech issues. Adams writes a lot like Ann Coulter. However, the humorous spin he puts on weighty issues and the serious spin he puts on mundane issues distinguishes him. He is, in many ways, like Dave Barry.

This is the funiest book I have ever read. This guy's ability to break down the absurdity of the PC movement is unmatched. I could not put it down!