77 Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus periods of gloom in the 600-odd year history of the university and, more to the point, in the history of the Canadian universities during the twentieth century. As Corry shows, there was good reason for gloom in the 1920s, in the Depression Years (when salaries were actually reduced), during World War II (when the cancellation of liberal arts programmes for the duration was seriously considered), and in the early 1950s. There were serious problems, too, during the so-called golden years of the expansionist 1960s — have we forgotten the sit-ins and the Sir Geroge Williams computer? Yet the institutions survived. The sun sets but it also rises. The second reason is implicit in the subtitle: My Life and Work: a happy partnership. In his brief introduction, in which he explains why a very modest and private person has decided to set down on paper his reflections on his life and times ("Canadians do not write enough memoirs. We complain that we really do not know who we are or how we came to be what we are. How can we unless we know where we have been or what we have been doing for several generations?") Corry identifies himself as a sceptic and a pragmatist. No dewy-eyed romantic he. And this stance is frequently reiterated in all ten chapters, including the brief conclusion entitled The Perils of Democracy. Yet in retrospect he finds that his life and his work have been continually exciting and productive and in combination have made him a happy man. Perhaps this would have been his conclusion at aged 80 had he stayed on the Ontario farm where he was raised or pursued the legal career he envisioned when he set out at age 20 to attend the University of Saskatchewan. What is certain is that he found this satisfaction as a university teacher. My Life and Work is an examination of the potentialities of the academic life and it finds them good. Robin S. Harris University of Toronto Higher Eduation in American Society. Edited by Philip G. Altbach and Robert 0 . Berdahl. 1981 Prometheas Books, 326 pgs. While many considered the 1960's to be a difficult period for higher education because of the student activist movement, the 1980's promise to be an even more stressful time for higher education because of such changes in American society as the decline in the college age population, fiscal stringency, and a major intrusion of government involvement in all aspects of higher education. These changes and their impact on higher education are the subject of this collection of an excellent series of original essays (only three have been published previously). Through these essays the editors of this book present a multifaceted yet unified perspective regarding the complex and highly important relationship between higher education and society with special emphasis upon the concepts of autonomy, accountability, and academic freedom. 78 Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus The first section of the book provides the setting for analyzing the external forces of the 1980's that are impinging on higher education. It includes an historical analysis from which one discerns some interesting similarities between the institutions of the 20th century and those of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; a discussion of the origin, evolution, and recent development of the broad concepts of academic freedom, autonomy, and accountability; an account of the important events of the 1970's and a summary of the internal and external forces influencing university compuses in the 1980's. These chapters provide a valuable backdrop for Kerr and Gade's essay which explores the emerging issues that colleges and universities will have to face in the coming years. The second section treats the major external constituencies of higher education — the state and federal governments, the courts, and non-government groups such as foundations, associations, consortia, and regional groups. Legal precedents and collective bargaining are included as relevant external forces affecting higher education. These chapters are written by recognized scholars (Millett,McGuiness, Hobbs and Harcleroad) who hold positions in one or more of these organizations and therefore this set of essays stress many of the positive perceptions that these groups have of their role in higher education. In contrast to the previous section, the third section presents the perceptions and reactions of the major internal constituencies (faculty, students, deans, and presidents/trustees) to these external forces. How significantly these forces are changing the role of the president, trustees and faculty should be of interest to all in higher education. In the fourth and final section, Burton Clark reminds the reader that problems facing American higher education are not unique to the United States and that American higher education could profit greatly from the study of foreign systems and the mistakes that they have made. The editors in their concluding chapter state: "We have, in this volume, proposed no panaceas. Rather, we have attempted to illustrate how the intersection between higher education and society functions at a time of considerable stress for academic institutions and those who work in them." The authors have presented this complex relationship between higher education and society in a way that is interesting, concise, and informative. There is no doubt that to understand higher education in the 1980's, one will have to be knowledgeable of how these societal forces impinge on the college and university. While this book is titled Higher Education in American Society, it has an international theme — that of illustrating how the forces of society can and do change many of the basic processes employed in higher education. Since the major processes analyzed (autonomy, accountability, and academic freedom) are also basic to Canadian higher education, Canadians will find this book interesting and valuable. Norman P. Uhi Mount Saint-Vincent University