Since it's topical right now

Last year I read Campus Confidential: 100 Startling Things You Don't Know About Canadian Universities by Ken S. Coates and Bill Morrison (Lorimer, 2011). Whether you're a student (or a prospective student), a parent, a faculty member, an administrator, or simply an interested Canadian, this provocative book will get you thinking about the purpose, efficiency, value, and sustainability of university education in Canada.

I can't truthfully say that I liked this book. I fundamentally disagree with many of its basic positions and attitudes. Still, there are many passages that I believe, from my subjective experiences as both a recent graduate student and a faculty member, are spot on. This book should inspire conversation about what the real purpose of a university education should be — or could be. There's certainly value in that discussion, particularly right now in Alberta, as the minister of Advanced Education tries to reframe what a university education is and means.