Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0812931726, Paperback)

"Picking the right college ... is one of the most important decisions that any young person will ever make," says Edward B. Fiske, former education editor for the New York Times. College is a major investment of time, energy, and money, so it's important to collect as much information as possible to help you make the right choice. The Fiske Guide to Colleges 1999 is an excellent source of helpful information. Rather than trying to offer a comprehensive guide to the nation's colleges, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 1999 focuses on the "best and most interesting colleges and universities" and offers in-depth profiles supported by clearly presented statistics. Each of the more than 300 schools selected for inclusion (on the basis of academic strength, adjusted for geographical diversity and for a mixture of public and private institutions) is rated in terms of three major themes: academics, social life, and quality of life. Each review essay offers information relevant to both students and parents--for example, Warren Towers is considered the best dorm for freshmen at Boston University, the history department at the University of California, Berkeley, is "dazzling," and the best place to get food at University of Colorado, Boulder, is the Alferd Packer Grill (named after a man convicted in Colorado of cannibalism in 1883). In addition to the helpful individual reviews, the book contains an excellent "news you can use" section, which outlines the current trends in college admissions. Another nice feature of this annually updated guide is the new "1999 Best Buys" list--a list of 43 private and public institutions offering an excellent education at a "relatively modest cost." Three separate indexes help guide you to individual colleges, but the essays are entertaining and encourage browsing. With its clear layout and honest--and opinionated--writing, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 1999 comes highly recommended for anyone considering an extended visit to the Groves of Academe. --C.B. Delaney