RALPH BRAUER is Executive Director of the Transforming Schools Consortium, a national group of school districts dedicated to public education, one of the liberal "four cornerstones" that make up the meat of his analysis in this book. He has also worked as a consultant, designing leadership programs for legislators, and with the American Association of Higher Education, among other organizations. An award-winning writer, he has seen his work published in the New York Times Magazine, the Nation, Newsweek, and other periodicals.