This book took me a long time to get through, though it's quite short, mostly because I found it annoying. I thought DeMille's points were poorly argued and I didn't really agree with most of it. I agree with a few of his broad ideas, but I find that he has either poor or vague practical advice on how to actually educate, day-to-day. I agree that classics are good and important, but I do not think they are the be-all and end-all of education. He seems to think that if parents read classics, they will automatically instill a love for classics in their kids and that they will know how to educate their children without any more practical advice. He also gives "read the classics" as to the answer to almost all educational questions. Want to teach your children math? Read classic math texts, then you will miraculously know how to teach your children math. DeMille thinks no real formal education should start until about age 8, which I also disagree with. My younger children love to "do school" and have learned a lot through formal education before the age of 8. They're also learning good habits and routines to help them with formal education as they get older. Demille suggests that you should "inspire, not require" in education. I think it is important to inspire kids, but I also think requiring kids to do hard things is an important part of education and life. I also think that his idea of basically leaving teenagers to their own devices and expecting them to want to study and research for many hours everyday is unrealistic as well as just plain wrong. Some kids may thrive on this, but I would suspect very few. I do agree with the need for mentors in education. I also agree with modeling a life-long love of learning to your kids. Overall, I was very disappointed in this book and fail to understand its popularity with some parts of the homeschooling population.