“The Capture of Academia: How Universities Shape Power, Silence Dissent, and Influence Society” by Professor (Emeritus) Norman Fenton
“My one criticism of this alarming tome is that its title does not do justice to how Professor Fenton’s warning reaches beyond the ivory towers of academia and the shores of the United Kingdom, the locus of most of the book’s events. Perhaps: “Attacking Western Democracy, grabbing power and crushing dissent through the capture of academia: an eyewitness account and warning.”
Ultimately, the clarity, provenance, and scope of this book make it an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the decline of Western Democracy in the early 21st Century, exemplified by the corruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fenton concludes, “The ivory tower is already burning. The question is whether we save what is worth preserving from the ashes or let it fall.” Hopefully, Fenton’s book will be used by those who wish to save the ivory tower and Western Democracy along with it, rather than by future historians conducting its post-mortem.