Book excerpt: First published in 1973 Professor Akensone(tm)s book traces the series of religious and political controversies which have battered the state schools of Northern Ireland. After the governmente(tm)s admirably intentioned, but muddled, attempt to create a non-sectarian school system in the early 1920s, the educational system was progressively manipulated by sectarianism. The way in which the author describes how children are schooled reveals a great deal about the attitudes and values of the parental generation and also helps to explain the actions of later generations.