Thelin, John R. A History of American Higher Education. Baltimore, Md.: John Hopkins University Press, 2004.

Summary
Tracing the history of American higher education, from its colonial roots to today, Thelin aims to convey the diversity and change in colleges and universities and thus suggest doubt about the permanence of many present-day policy and practices. He also challenges the notion that American colleges and universities were the by-product of the “Oxbridge” model; they were often vibrant responses to localism, ethno-religious identities, and distinct American cultural and historical conditions. Since their creation, American colleges and universities have sat at the juncture between their public and private purposes, between their sectarian origins and secular ambitions, and what Thelin calls their Janus mentality, between a monosyllabic Anglo-Saxon past and an increasingly multiethnic future. He brings to light such matters as institutional costs, access and affordability, external funding and philanthropy and demographics, issues largely overlooked by Frederick Rudolph.