"Neill! Neill! Orange Peel!"
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Few figures in the history of modern education have provoked as much admiration, controversy, and passionate debate as Alexander Sutherland Neill, and this autobiography stands as his most intimate and revealing work. Neill! Neill! Orange Peel! chronicles the life of the Scottish-born educator who dared to reimagine the very foundations of childhood, tracing his journey from a humble Scottish upbringing to the founding of Summerhill School in Suffolk, England — a radical democratic institution where children governed themselves and attendance at lessons was entirely voluntary. With candid wit and disarming honesty, Neill recounts the personal struggles, intellectual revelations, and fierce public criticism that shaped both his philosophy and his character, offering an unfiltered window into the mind of a man who believed, above all else, in the child's right to freedom. Written with the same irreverent warmth that made Summerhill a countercultural landmark, this memoir argues that conventional education is not merely ineffective but actively harmful to the emotional and psychological well-being of children. Neill's prose is conversational yet incisive, blending autobiography with a broader indictment of authoritarian schooling and repressive social norms, drawing on the ideas of Freud and Reich to construct a humanist vision of learning rooted in love rather than fear. A cornerstone text of progressive education and a fascinating portrait of a truly singular life, this book leaves the reader questioning not just how we teach children, but what we truly believe about human nature itself.
Author: A. S. Neill
Format: Hardback
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Few figures in the history of modern education have provoked as much admiration, controversy, and passionate debate as Alexander Sutherland Neill, and this autobiography stands as his most intimate and revealing work. Neill! Neill! Orange Peel! chronicles the life of the Scottish-born educator who dared to reimagine the very foundations of childhood, tracing his journey from a humble Scottish upbringing to the founding of Summerhill School in Suffolk, England — a radical democratic institution where children governed themselves and attendance at lessons was entirely voluntary. With candid wit and disarming honesty, Neill recounts the personal struggles, intellectual revelations, and fierce public criticism that shaped both his philosophy and his character, offering an unfiltered window into the mind of a man who believed, above all else, in the child's right to freedom. Written with the same irreverent warmth that made Summerhill a countercultural landmark, this memoir argues that conventional education is not merely ineffective but actively harmful to the emotional and psychological well-being of children. Neill's prose is conversational yet incisive, blending autobiography with a broader indictment of authoritarian schooling and repressive social norms, drawing on the ideas of Freud and Reich to construct a humanist vision of learning rooted in love rather than fear. A cornerstone text of progressive education and a fascinating portrait of a truly singular life, this book leaves the reader questioning not just how we teach children, but what we truly believe about human nature itself.