Americans are reading less; comprehension is eroding. And where reading intersects with academic achievement and participation in civic matters and cultural activities, the results are dire. Thus concludes the new National Endowment for the Arts study, "To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence". A divergent group of experts weighs in. Their contributions are as follows: "A Woeful Prospect," (Mark Bauerlein); "Readers Are Doers," (Lynne Munson and Lauren Prehoda); "Content Counts," (Sandra Stotsky); "Not So Bad," (Jay Greene); and "The Hunting of the Snark," (Erin O'Connor). (Contains 1 table and 40 footnotes.)