Includes bibliographical references.

Coming to America -- A brief history of liberal education -- Learning to think -- The natural aristocracy -- Knowledge and power -- In defense of today's youth.

The liberal arts are under attack. Some have argued that getting a skills-based education is enough. However, the CNN host and author explains why this widely held view is mistaken and shortsighted. Zakaria expounds on the virtues of a liberal arts education-how to write clearly, how to express yourself convincingly, and how to think analytically. He turns the "vocational education training is enough" argument on its head. American routine manufacturing jobs continue to get automated or outsourced, and specific vocational knowledge is often outdated within a few years. Engineering is a great profession, but key value-added skills you will also need are creativity, lateral thinking, design, communication, storytelling, and, more than anything, the ability to continually learn and enjoy learning-precisely the gifts of a liberal education.