Book excerpt: Yale's Reports, published in 1828, is a seminalpublication for understanding the development of American higher education. Giving highest priority to critical thinking skills, this fifty-six-page pamphlet played a central role in clearly delineating teaching objectives, modes of learning, and range of curriculum for the nation s colleges. In a deeply researched and well-crafted analytical narrative, David B. Potts introduces Yale s document, probes its origins and message, surveys its national reception, and assesses its import for liberal education, both then and now. His broadly contextual approach helps readers understand why the young republic, informed and encouraged by Yale s rationale, became a land of liberal arts colleges.