284 Reading Research Quarterly Vol. 35, No. 2 April/May/June 2000 ©2000 International Reading Association (pp. 284–297) M yles Horton founded the Highlander School in Tennessee in 1932, and it was to become the preeminent educational force for democracy in the United States in the 20th century (Adams & Horton, 1975; Horton, 1990). Among its many achievements, Highlander was the source of the global anthem “We Shall Overcome” and the seedbed of the literacy-based Citizenship Schools of the U.S. Civil Rights movement (Clark & Brown, 1990). Horton once claimed in an interview with Bill Moyers that “the greatest education is action, and the greatest ac- tion is the struggle for justice” (Moyers, 1982). Patrick Shannon’s four books reviewed here are centered in this tradition. For Shannon, the greatest litera- cy is that which enables the struggle for justice and democracy. Over the last decade, his books have ana- lyzed the various forms of reading instruction in the U.S. and found them wanting. Shannon couples his critique with frameworks for practitioners to rethink their daily practice and the larger context of schooling. He voices the hope and the promise of public education, and strives to shape the debate over its future. I share much of Shannon’s basic orientation, look- ing at literacy as a philosopher grounded in Paulo Freire’s theory of education as a practice of freedom (Freire, 1970, 1973, 1994, 1998; Glass, 1996), and as an activist who worked intensively with both Freire and Horton in the 1980s. I also bring to bear my experiences as a Reading Poverty. By Patrick Shannon. 1998. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 230 pp. ISBN 0-325-00-174. US$20.00. Paperback. Text, Lies, and Videotape: Stories About Life, Literacy, and Learning. By Patrick Shannon. 1995. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 144 pp. ISBN 0-435-081-209. US$16.00. Paperback. The Struggle to Continue: Progressive Reading Instruction in the United States. By Patrick Shannon. 1990. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 220 pp. ISBN 0-435-085-344. US$25.00. Paperback. Broken Promises: Reading Instruction in Twentieth-Century America. By Patrick Shannon. 1989. Granby, MA: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc. 186 pp. ISBN 0-897-891- 600. US$21.95. Paperback. ESSAY BOOK REVIEWS Reading Patrick Shannon on reading instruction: Reflections on politics and education Ronald David Glass Arizona State University West, Phoenix, USA