Two leading university teachers, both closely involved in the events they describe, give a detailed account and a forthright analysis of the changes that have occurred in the last decade in the relations between government and the universities in New Zealand. They set the story in its historical context, showing the kind of universities that developed in New Zealand with their emphasis on liberal education and open entry. They point out the new pressures facing universities in recent years. They cover in detail the complex and often acerbic interchanges between government and university leaders from 1984 on. They describe the major university reforms, the simplistic ideologies behind them, the speed with which they were implemented and their deeply disturbing implications. Scholars of political science.