Prakash (education, Pennsylvania State U.) and Esteva (former professor and activist) question the contemporary dictum that education is universally good and a human right. The authors point to alternative means of living and learning that remain common at a grassroots level, in cultures of the uneducated and under-educated, and the illiterate. Topics include education as a human right, grassroots postmodernism, and the linguistic and cultural erosion caused by education. The writing can be strident, but the book does present some interesting views of cultures that exist outside the realm of traditional education and their ways of teaching and learning. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)