"Rescuing Socrates is a warm, appealing narrative of how it feels to be 鈥榯hrust into a conversation鈥� with fellow students about life鈥檚 most 鈥榮erious and unsettling questions.鈥�"鈥擬artha Bayles, Wall Street Journal
"[A] combination memoir and call to arms. . . . Despite those who claim that these are merely works by dead, possibly irrelevant white men, Mont谩s argues that the Great Books approach has a fundamentally democratizing impulse."鈥擩ohn McWhorter, New York Times
"Thanks to Mont谩s . . . Socrates had a good 2021."鈥擥eorge F. Will, Washington Post
"[An] earnest defense of the humanities, which is also a personal testament to the power of a liberal education."鈥擳homas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic
"One can only hope that Rescuing Socrates rescues others as well."鈥擭aomi Schaefer Riley, Commentary
"Mont谩s undertakes his defense of the great books with simplicity and humility. . . . In the face of public conversations marked by fear, anger, and hostility, Mont谩s chooses the path of vulnerability. In that, he shows the wisdom of a person who has navigated real conflict, away from the seminar table."鈥擹ena Hitz, Commonweal Magazine
"This is an important, and timely, book about why the western canon still matters and about how great books can change lives, especially impoverished black and brown ones."鈥擫indsay Johns, Times Literary Supplement
"A heartbreakingly honest immigrant tale of displacement, loss, wrenching readjustment and self-discovery, this book also offers a gripping account of how participation in the great conversation over justice, ethics, citizenship and the nature of the good life can subvert hierarchies of privilege, redeem lost souls, open minds and transform lives."鈥擲teve Mintz, Inside Higher Ed
"Rescuing Socrates is a valuable and thoughtful book both sociologically and educationally, making a contribution to the ongoing debate over the past, present, and future of liberal-arts education in the United States."鈥擬. D. Aeschliman, National Review
"[Mont谩s] weaves a compelling personal narrative together with a forceful argument that reading classic texts, even those originating in predominantly white, Eurocentric cultures, is an important opportunity for underserved students of color to transform themselves and transform the inequitable social structures within which they are embedded"鈥擝rian Rosenberg, Chronicle of Higher Education
"Mont谩s returns the humanities to its revolutionary home, reminding us that we are, after all, talking about such radical and subversive thinkers as Augustine, Plato, Freud, and Gandhi. He teaches us, presumably like he teaches his Core Curriculum students, what those thinkers were after鈥攁nd what reading them makes possible."鈥擩onathan Tran, Christian Century 鈥�
"[An] insightful work. . . . Few colleges and universities still require study of Great Books as part of their curricula, but Monta虂s makes a compelling case for the life-changing results of such pedagogy; he notes how, as an e虂migre虂 from the Dominican Republic, he benefited from the breadth and depth of these approaches."鈥�Library Journal
"That鈥檚 why the perspective of Roosevelt Mont谩s, author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation, is so badly needed. . . . In this part memoir, part call to action, Mont谩s argues that reading great literature and philosophy can make working-class people鈥檚 lives more meaningful and that everyone should have the opportunity to read great books."鈥擫iza Featherstone, Jacobin
"By taking us through his reading and rereading of books over the course of a life, Mont谩s can articulate what is rarely articulated well about great books education."鈥擩onathan Marks, Washington Examiner
"The strength of Mont谩s鈥� argument lies in his acknowledgement of the power and responsibility of undergraduate education."鈥擥race Phan Jones, American Purpose
"A timely and much-needed book. . . . If administrators and education advocates take the message of Rescuing Socrates to heart, then our students, our schools, and our nation might yet see a brighter future."鈥擬atthew Levey, City Journal
"Mont谩s convincingly makes the argument that the classics enrich any life pursuit. By doing so, his story should appeal to anyone who cares about education. There is something here to illuminate and inspire."鈥擭athaniel Grossman, Fordham Institute
"[An] important book."鈥擬atthew Bianco, Circe Institute
"Rescuing Socrates turns out to be a magnificent exercise in rescuing us."鈥擠ouglas V. Henry, Law & Liberty
"Here is the very model of intellectual dialogue: Freud speaking to Mont谩s and Mont谩s considering thoughtfully and speaking back鈥攁 demonstration of the fact that the value of liberal arts education is to be found in the experience itself rather than in bean-counter terms such as 鈥榣earning outcomes鈥� or starting salaries."鈥擬atthew Stewart, James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal
"Mont谩s鈥� defense of the great books is both disarming and brave."鈥擝enjamin Storey and Jenna Storey, American Purpose
"Mont谩s鈥檚 inspiring defense of the humanities is as galvanizing as his own story. . . . Even if one is not fond of a liberal arts and humanistic education, he may still want to read Roosevelt Mont谩s for the sheer humanity of his book."鈥擯aul Krause, Merion West
"Eminently quotable and engagingly written, Rescuing Socrates is a rich resource for those who care about liberal education."鈥擡ric Adler, Front Porch Republic
"Rescuing Socrates is the best defence of a liberal education I have read. . . . Mont谩s writes so movingly, and with such erudition, that he himself is the best advertisement for the liberal education he champions."鈥擠aniel James Sharp, Areo Magazine
"A robust and unapologetic argument that liberal education, centered around the great books, should be the foundation of every university education. . . . Rescuing Socrates makes a strong case for liberal education at a time when it needs ardent defenders."鈥擭athaniel Peters, Law & Liberty 鈥嬧�嬧�嬧�嬧�嬧�嬧��
"An impassioned argument for the essential value of the humanities in education."鈥擠avid Luhrssen, Shepherd Express
"Whereas many today see an irreversible crisis in higher education, Mont谩s sees fertile ground for renewal."鈥擫uis Parrales, Public Discourse
"A beautiful, powerful, personal argument on behalf of great books programs."鈥擶illiam Deresiewicz, Liberties
"Rescuing Socrates is a fascinating and illuminating read that foregrounds the value of the liberal arts, in particular for students from low-income and other disenfranchised backgrounds. Mont谩s exposes the lie that the great works are unsuitable for or irrelevant to people from such backgrounds, and in fact demonstrates the exact opposite: exposure to these texts is most essential for the most disenfranchised."鈥擣innian Murphy, AC Review of Books
鈥淭his moving book is both a cry from the heart and a battle cry. It is the most convincing case yet made for liberal education as a gift to young people and indispensable for democracy. If every president, trustee, dean, and professor (of any subject) were to read it鈥攔eally read it鈥攈ope and purpose would be restored to our colleges and universities and to all the students they serve.鈥濃�擜ndrew Delbanco, president of the Teagle Foundation and author of College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be
鈥泪苍 Rescuing Socrates, Roosevelt Mont谩s tells his story of moving as a lost, lonely twelve-year-old from the Dominican Republic to New York, then eventually finding himself by studying Aristotle, Augustine, Plato, and many others in the Core Curriculum at Columbia University. Mont谩s takes the reader on an inspiring journey where we come to realize how the power of these texts helped a young immigrant and man of color recreate his heritage and a sense of identity in a foreign land.鈥濃�擜nika T. Prather, founder of The Living Water School
鈥淭his is a powerful and deeply personal defense of Great Books and liberal education. Mont谩s has written a rousing reminder that a Great Books education is not a frivolous indulgence or a weapon in the culture wars, but a gateway to clearer thinking, meaningful human relationships, and life鈥檚 most important questions.鈥濃�擬olly Worthen, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"Roosevelt Mont谩s has written an absorbing and perceptive book about how he, an immigrant from a rural town in the Dominican Republic, came to New York and was engaged and transformed by reading great books. His vibrant account is an autobiography of learning. It should be read by anyone interested in reading and big ideas."鈥擬itchell Cohen, author of The Politics of Opera: A History from Monteverdi to Mozart
鈥泪苍 this beautifully written book, Roosevelt Mont谩s presents a compelling case for the immeasurably transformative value of a true liberal education. Through his personal story and a poetic journey of the works of four great thinkers, Mont谩s illuminates how a liberal education is essential to engaging with the most fundamental aspects of human freedom and self-determination. Rescuing Socrates is a touching, insightful invitation to rethink the reigning model of education in favor of one that equips us to live examined lives.鈥濃�擜mna Khalid, Carleton College
