TYPED LETTER TO HAROLD RUGG OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S TEACHERS COLLEGE SIGNED BY JOURNALIST MAX LERNER.

Max Lerner regrets that he is unable to accept an invitation to speak in Harold Rugg's lecture series,: "I got myself tied to a series of radio and lecture commitments in addition to my PM work and on top of it all I am trying to finish up my book on American civilization" ["America as a Civilization: Life and Thought in the United States Today"]. After congratulating Rugg on his recent marriage, he writes that he hadn't known about Rugg's new book. "PM" only publishes two book reviews a week but he will ask them to look into it with special care.

Max Lerner [1902-1992] was an American journalist and educator known for his controversial syndicated column in the New York Post. The column, which debuted in 1949, earned him a place on Nixon's enemies list. "America as a Civilization", which doesn't get published until 1957, was his most influential book.

One of the most significant educators during the Progressive era of education, Harold Rugg [1886-1960] was a professor of education at Teachers College of Columbia University. A Civil Engineer, he had become interested in how students learn and pursued a doctorate in education. He was responsible for producing the very first series of school textbooks from 1929 until the 1940s.