Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
Jonathan Kozol
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools
Jonathan Kozol · 2025
Banned in 1 country
About this book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “An impassioned book, laced with anger and indignation, about how our public education system scorns so many of our children.”—The New York Times Book Review In 1988, Jonathan Kozol set off to spend time with children in the American public education system. For two years, he visited schools in neighborhoods across the country, from Illinois to Washington, D.C., and from New York to San Antonio. He spoke with teachers, principals, superintendents, and, most important, children. What he found was devastating. Not only were schools for rich and poor blatantly unequal, the gulf between the two extremes was widening—and it has widened since. The urban schools he visited were overcrowded and understaffed, and lacked the basic elements of learning—including books and, all too often, classrooms for the students. In Savage Inequalities, Kozol delivers a searing examination of the extremes of wealth and poverty and calls into question the reality of equal opportunity in our nation’s schools. Praise for Savage Inequalities “I was unprepared for the horror and shame I felt. . . . Savage Inequalities is a savage indictment. . . . Everyone should read this important book.”—Robert Wilson, USA Today “Kozol has written a book that must be read by anyone interested in education.”—Elizabeth Duff, Philadelphia Inquirer “The forces of equity have now been joined by a powerful voice. . . .
Censorship history
Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools was banned or restricted in United States in 2025 for its political content and challenge to authority, as well as race / colonialism. This case illustrates how governments across political systems have used censorship to shield authority from literary criticism.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | PoliticalRacial |



