"How would you teach American history if the themes and lessons were entirely up to you? Jim Cullen's brilliant new novel provides one very vivid set of answers. Through the eyes of retiring teacher Kevin Lee, we see history presented as it really is: a set of puzzles and riddles, about who we are and what we want to be. I want all of our young people to take a course from Mr. Lee, or from someone like him. Why can't they?"
"Jim Cullen's incisive tale of the provocative teacher whose final act is making U.S. history come alive for his high school students in small town America is a powerful reminder of what good teaching can and should be."
"Great teachers tell great stories, and Jim Cullen is a great teacher who tells a story that is surprising, uplifting, ironic, and even a little depressing, all at the same time. It is a story about American history, good teaching, constraints on good teaching, and most of all the precariousness of life."
"In Best Class You Neve Had, Jim Cullen brings a unique voice to the story of an imperfect nation's struggle to exist and to maintain its democratic ideals. Set in the history classroom of retiring teacher Kevin Lee and his inquisitive, if not impatient students, Cullen explores the American Dream, the persistent conflict of classes, the plight of enslaved people and others marginalized by those in power, as he weaves a narrative of American history. In his farewell message to the students he loves, Mr. Lee cautions that the nation—a set of political arrangements—may not last, but a country—a culture rooted in a place—is theirs to shape: 'An acceptance of, and pleasure in, the civilization that is your heritage, and an appreciation of that which is not native to you.' Cullen's book belongs in any American History classroom."
"Jim Cullen is a gift to educators. His book Best Class You Never Had is a history education manifesto that is warm, witty, engaging, powerfully prescient, and hopeful. I can't wait to use it with my students."
"Jim Cullen has written many books, but this novel might be his best because it so powerfully captures the moral imperative at the heart of why we teach and what we hope our students will learn. As the fictional Mr. Lee puts it: 'Understanding where you're coming from is the very essence of education, something you undertake to find and achieve the authentic.' Best Class You Never Had tells the story of a history teacher's final year in the classroom, but it should be read by teachers and students alike at any stage of their careers or intellectual development. It offers lessons for all of us."
