Annals of Corruption: Part 1

In 1964 the eminent physicist Richard Feynman served on the State
of California's Curriculum Commission and saw how the Commission
chose math textbooks for use in California's public schools. In his
acerbic memoir of that experience, titled "Judging Books by Their
Covers," Feynman analyzed the Commission's idiotic method of
evaluating books, and he described some of the tactics employed by
schoolbook salesmen who wanted the Commission to adopt their shoddyproducts. "Judging Books by Their Covers" appeared as a chapter in "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" --
Feynman's autobiographical book that was published in 1985
by W.W. Norton & Company.

To introduce a series of articles about corruption in
schoolbook-adoption proceedings, we present here (with permission
from W.W. Norton & Company) an extended excerpt from Feynman's
narrative.

As our "Annals of Corruption" series unfolds, readers will see that
Feynman's account is as timely now as it was when he wrote it.
State adoption proceedings still are pervaded by sham, malfeasance
and ludicrous incompetence, and they still reflect cozy connections
between state agencies and schoolbook companies.

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Feynman is one of my favorite academics. He had great humor and an ability to to make what was important stand out and what was completely cryptic plainly described as such.

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