The Closing of the American Mind

The Closing of the American Mind
	Cover of the first edition
Author	Allan Bloom
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Higher education
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	February 1987
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	392
ISBN	978-5-551-86868-2
Dewey Decimal	378.0120973
LC Class	LA227.3

The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students is a 1987 book by the philosopher Allan Bloom, in which the author criticizes the openness of relativism, in academia and society in general, as leading paradoxically to the great closing referenced in the book's title. In Bloom's view, openness undermines critical thinking and eliminates the point of view that defines cultures. The book became an unexpected best seller, eventually selling close to half a million copies in hardback.

^ Adler 2016, p. 19.
^ Ferguson, Andrew (April 9, 2012). "The Book That Drove Them Crazy". The Weekly Standard. Vol. 17, no. 29. Washington: Clarity Media Group. pp. 28–33. ISSN 1083-3013. Retrieved May 14, 2019.

[FOOTNOTEAdler201619-1] Adler 2016, p. 19.

[2] Ferguson, Andrew (April 9, 2012). "The Book That Drove Them Crazy". The Weekly Standard. Vol. 17, no. 29. Washington: Clarity Media Group. pp. 28–33. ISSN 1083-3013. Retrieved May 14, 2019.

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