That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind In The World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Frieman and Michael Mandelbaum (2011) was the book that made the biggest impression on me this year.

I see this book to be an honest analysis of the America we are living in.  That is an America that is in need of advancements in education, infrastructure and research and development and our willingness to welcome others.  Further, my read of this book is that it presents a reasonable message about America’s possible future. And much of that future, should it unfold in a positive way, will be directly or indirectly connected to the abilities, dispositions and talents of our people.  This book makes a strong case for how education can positively impact America’s future.

Here are eleven links to posts I wrote this year stimulated by this thought provoking book.  I hope the posts lead more people to read the book and benefit form the learning it can stimulate.  Enjoy!

Collectively we need to act in the interest of our countries common good!

America simply doesn’t have time anymore for exhausting any options other than the right ones

We must invest in education, infrastructure, and research and development, as well as open our society more widely to talented immigrants

It depends on us . . . are we ready to transform our educational focus?

There are two types of workers in our economy: creators and servers.  Forget blue-collar and white-collar.

Do you believe that America has fallen behind in the world it created?

I don’t think this is fair to our children

Elegant thinkers and effective collaborators

The Opportunities to Build Community and a Brighter Future are Available – And it Will  Require Courage to Actualize those Opportunities

How can getting better at thinking ever be a bad idea?

Re-framing our thinking is the beginning