This paper discusses several of the many books and articles which have appeared during the past decade which chronicle the supposedly precarious state of the humanities in higher education. The paper focuses on the first book, the surprise best seller, "The Closing of the American Mind," written by Allan Bloom in 1987 and especially on a new book written in 1997 by John N. Ellis, "Literature Lost: Social Agendas and the Corruption of the Humanities." The paper contends that in making their analyses these academic authors ignore any events which occur outside the university campus and that they also ignore the real reasons for the changing nature of humanities education in the United States. Contains 7 references. (Author)