The purpose and effect of a college education today is examined in this book by a graduate of Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton and a former professor at three institutions. "Group memory" is defined as the knowledge of how to survive that is passed from one generation to the next. The heart of the book is two survival manuals--one for colleges and one for students. Following a short fictional prologue that proposes the question the book attempts to answer ("How is it possible to get a good education in America today?"), Part 1 examines the current state of U.S. colleges and universities: rising costs and declining enrollment, increasing dependence on government aid, a decline in the liberal arts coinciding with a formless proliferation of the curriculum, a loss of distinctiveness in colleges as they attempt to broaden their appeal with curricular and student living options, and a neglect of student well-being. It is suggested that too much wealth and profligate policies are responsible for the problems colleges face, that commitment to both a philosophy and policy of conservation--rather than more money and more students--is needed, and that higher academic standards should be adopted. Part II proposes that it is still possible for a student to obtain a profitable and happy undergraduate career. It contains chapters on the effect of college on the individual, finding the right school, admissions, financial aid, planning a course of studies, and preparing for postgraduate work. (LB)