This book investigates the systemic decline of the modern university and proposes actionable strategies for institutional reform. Authors Cary Nelson and Stephen Watt leverage their extensive experience within the academic landscape to critique current administrative and labor practices. By synthesizing historical context with contemporary labor issues, they argue that the current trajectory of higher education is unsustainable and requires a fundamental shift in faculty engagement and organizational structure.

Experts and academic observers frequently cite this work as a provocative contribution to the discourse on university labor rights. Readers often note the direct, polemical tone of the prose, which serves to challenge established administrative norms.