Why Fly That Way? Linking Community and Academic Achievement Book

Fun, engagingly entertaining and often really quite fascinating (and yes, also exceedingly well researched, with all or at least most academic sources readily acknowledged by the author), but rereading Richard Zacks' An Underground Education has indeed made me realise that for one, the rather constant focus on and depiction of sex, sex and even more sex does tend to become more than a bit juvenile (diverting, even funny to an extent, but also often rather boring and tedious, almost as though I am reading a book penned by a teenager looking for cheaply titillating, and with a bit of a pun most definitely intended here, thrills), and for two, that while I am indeed and in fact sure that ALL (or at least the vast majority) of the historical anecdotes and snippets listed and depicted by author Richard Zacks are based on actual reality, the manner in which he has chosen to present them to us as readers and more importantly, which historical factoids have been chosen and which have been ignored and not included makes An Underground Education rather majorly one-sided at times and often basically a bit too much of a problematic diatribe against Catholicism, Puritanism, Christianity (and actually, against all and sundry religious beliefs, period).

And no, I am neither a religious fundamentalist in any manner nor have I ever objected to religion-based historical and/or cultural criticism, but I do have to say and consider that since An Underground Education is (in my opinion) and from its very title obviously meant to be a manual of supplemental, of unknown (or not as readily known) historical details and facts about world history and human knowledge in general, I have found much of the presented and featured information a bit unbalanced, onesided, and majorly geared towards an unfortunate general attitude of vehement anti-religion, anti-faith in and of itself. And with this truth of the matter in mind (at least, or rather, this is how I personally tend to now view and consider An Underground Education), I would (and even though I absolutely did majorly adore this book and Richard Zacks' musings, impressions and style of expression the first time I read An Underground Education in 2000) now ONLY consider a low three star ranking at best for An Underground Education (but nevertheless, the book is still to be warmly recommended as a fun, engaging and above all much entertaining foray into world history, world culture, philosophy etc., but with the necessary caveat that in my humble opinion, there is simply a bit too much authorial, read personal bias and in particular against all religions in general cast across the proverbial board).