"In this new book, Larry Cuban takes aim at the alluring cliche that schools should be more businesslike, and shows that in its long history in business-minded America, no one has shown that a business model can be successfully applied to education." "In this book, one of the most distinguished scholars in education charts the Gilded Age beginnings of the influential view that American schools should be organized to meet the needs of American businesses, and run according to principles of cost-efficiency, bottom-line thinking, and customer satisfaction."--Jacket.