This is a book that every parent and student needs to read.

The historical context provided for how the system got as messed up as it is now was the star of the book. I was aware of the GI Bill and its impact on kickstarting the economy after World War II. But, I had no idea about the individual congressmen who forced racist compromises designed to preserve the post-Reconstruction power structure. It's truly a shame that so many of our most flawed systems, such as healthcare, have these sordid origins.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in exploring how our education system became this way. It will probably be too depressing for most. That's not to say it is not worth reading; just be prepared to lose more faith in American institutions.

In this critical examination of the history of the student debt crisis, Ryan Liebenthal provides a needed perspective on the systemic factors that fueled the exponential increase in financial burdens for American students. Highlighting the policy missteps, predatory lending practices, and shifting priorities of presidential administrations, Burdened not only gives the context for but also the socioeconomic consequences of higher education financing in the modern era. At its core, Liebenthal’s Burdened is a history book. Beginning with the “Era of Missed Opportunities (1941-1971), a timeline of key moments in funding of higher education is traced. From the post-World War II GI Bill to current efforts to forgive student loans, the entrenched inequities of tuition costs, the view of the student as a consumer rather than a citizen, and the exploitation by private loan systems is exposed. Liebenthal’s Burdened is a compelling and meticulously researched work that unpacks the origins of the student debt crisis and challenges readers to consider the role of higher education in fostering an equitable society. This book is an essential read for policymakers, educators, and students seeking to understand the deeper roots of our financial predicaments and how this crisis continues to shape the future of American higher education and economic opportunity.


I am grateful to NetGalley and Dey Street Books for providing me with a gratis copy of Ryann Liebenthal’s Burdened.

This book epitomizes the idea that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. It provides an incredibly well researched history of student debt, and unfortunately shows how much of yesterday's conversations have bled into today. While progress is being made and there is hope to some degree, this book shows how deep these issues run and how much corruption there was/is in higher education.

Liebenthal really did a great job with this book and there is no confusion about why this book was written. The self-insertion at the end was very welcome and really drove home the point of this story. It showed how student loan debt, while technically 'unnecessary,' can feel like the only option to some. It also showed how this choice to take out loans can saddle someone with so much debt that they can hardly imagine a life without it.

All in all, I highly respect the author and the process it must have been to write this book, especially on a topic that is clearly so personal. I came out of this feeling like a learned a lot, and also felt a lot more affinity for The Debt Collective, an org I was already quite fond of. Thank you to Ryann Liebenthal and NetGalley for providing me early access to this book.

To be honest, I was drawn to this book because I wanted confirmation of my own belief that I shouldn't pay my student loans because the system is corrupt, I'm not in a career that my degree caters to, and I shouldn't be punished for wanting to better myself and my socio-economic level in life. This book not only validated it, but expressed it with cold hard facts, instead of the emotional state that student loans sends me into, and I feel even more informed about this predatory system. This book, coupled with the Last Week Tonight episode on Student loans, has made me feel like a more enraged, but informed!, citizen who needs to make sure their needs are being met by going out to vote, living like a european with limited student loans (so, living my best life), and hoping for the collapse of a system that was once a good idea, but has now been corrupted by greed through aggressive, and daily!, interest rates.