Book excerpt: This book addresses one the most contentious issues of postwar Western Europe, namely the organization of the primary and secondary stages of schooling in state education systems. In examining the politics of continuity and change in postwar schooling in Britain and the Federal Republic Germany, Gregory Baldi seeks to contribute to more general understandings of education's place in the welfare state, the development of social institutions, and the relationship between material and ideational factors in shaping political outcomes over time. Gregory Baldi is Associate Professor of Political Science at Western Illinois University, USA. His work has been published in West European Politics and The British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 'A masterful account of how the education systems of Britain and Germany have developed in different directions over the past decades, in spite of starting from relatively similar positions after the Second World War. Contributing to a growing dynamic literature exploring the political foundations of education policy, this book adds an innovative and important aspect to the debate by pointing to the central role of discourses and ideas in shaping policy trajectories. A must-read for everybody interested in education and inequality.' - Marius R. Busemeyer, University of Konstanz, Germany 'Elegantly demonstrates the power of ideas and discourses for the politics of education. Gregory Baldi fills an important gap in the literature on the politics of education, which has largely neglected the role of ideas and discourses. The book offers a novel argument and well-researched case studies on school policies in Germany and Britain to show that we cannot understand the politics of education without paying attention to discourses and ideas. The book explains why policy-makers in Britain and Germany chose distinct policy paths, with far-reaching consequences for educational and socio-economic inequality.' - Julian Garritzmann, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.