While I like some of this book, and agree with the main ideas of it, it also seems much more pessimistic than my experiences as a student and an academic. I wonder if computer science is different than some of the other fields discussed, or if my part of it is, or if my experience outside of the tenure-track system makes things seem better to me than to the author. ( )

It’s interesting how daunting it is to be the first to rate or review a book— I don’t know that I’ve had that happen before and I guess I must normally use that data to form my own opinions?
First some “negatives”—Dr. Sutter comes off as judgmental (I think that was on purpose, but it’s still hard to read) and the book could probably have been reduced by 10% without losing information.
BUT: This is a book that will make you think—about some things that I hadn’t considered before. I had expected that it would center on “restoring trust in an age of doubt” since that is the subtitle and since I (and likely many others) do see that problem and recognize it as something that needs addressing. It does cover that—but more, much more. I had no idea how many PhDs in science and engineering are minted each year recently and what a difficult path they face to “succeed” as scientists. I prepare questions and lead a discussion each month (for my local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) based on the current Scientific American issue and had just noted that I “… worry that spending this much money for a project described like this [the Parker Solar Probe] won’t continue to be a priority in future.” I now realize that I and my group need to think more carefully about initial reactions to consider possible other factors.
He proposes some actions that might help (good luck getting rid of tenure—unless maybe you look at how baseball salaries during players 20s and 30s ensure financial security later??) and they are well worth considering. ( )