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.