The author chronicles his experiments with inquiry-based learning (IBL) as he applied lessons from the literature and assessed the results. He describes a difficult journey with the result that, with the help of the literature, supportive colleagues and patient, creative students, he learned how to design courses that invite undergraduates to become more critical, more complex, and more autonomous thinkers. Readers of this article will, he hopes, avoid some of the pitfalls that he encountered.