Instruct: Classify a given review as either positive or negative.
Query: Elitist nonsense.

It is disturbing that many people in the academic community have embraced the positions advocated by this book. Bloom's Eurocenrtic elitism is absurdly out of touch with today's America. He rejected almost everything less than three centuries old, which pretty much eliminates the entirity of American accomplishments. Worse yet, he lacked any understanding of the culture that surrounded him. Even basic contemporary concepts like freedom of speech and freedom of the press seem to have eluded him. Nobody disagrees that today's scholars should read the great thinkers of the past. But students living in today's real world have a greater need to develop an understanding and appreciation for today's culture. For better perspectives, I suggest reading "Culture's Sleeping Beauty" by Michael Bugeja, "Legacy of Wisdom" by John Merrill and any of Arthur Asa Berger's books about interpreting popular culture.