Paul Though — How Children Succeed: Grit, curiosity, and the hidden power of character — HMH Books, 2012, 230 pp. ISBN 978-0-547-56465-4
(Buy at Amazon.com)
In this book, Paul Tough explores the links between poverty, domestic violence, ethnicity, grit, tenacity, and the chances children have of succeeding in school and later in life. Some of the conclusions are expected, but the detailed explanations are sometimes surprising. He also discusses at length that grit, endurance and determination, is what makes the main difference between a student that will succeed, and those that will not.
The book is thoroughly researched, but is centred exclusively on the US, with little or no comparisons with other countries, which makes it not that interesting for, say, Canadians. It would have been especially interesting to see why some countries (like those of Scandinavia) seem to fare so well compared to the US that fell far behind in degree completion, despite a slow but steady rise in enrolment.
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger 