Inspired by author David McCullough’s tribute to Herman Wouk in the former’s book, “History Matters,” I recently picked up a copy of Wouk’s “The Winds of War” and dove into the story. The book covers the period from the late 1930s to America’s entry into World War II via Pearl Harbor. Navy Commander “Pug” Henry is the main protagonist, though other characters – family members, acquaintances, and even historical figures like Churchill and FDR – are also part of the story. Their lives are complicated both by the war in Europe after Hitler’s invasion of Poland and by personal intrigues.

As I read, Wouk’s book triggered a couple of questions far removed from the storyline. My copy of “The Winds of War” is 885 pages of small print. With so many characters, the plot is complicated. To someone ignorant of the main events of that time, the history might be impossible. Yet the novel ran on bestseller lists for months. Sales soared in 1983, following a miniseries based on the book.

Given its size and its assumptions, I wondered whether young American adults today would read a book like “The Winds of War?” Could they even read this 50-year-old novel with any comprehension?

Unfortunately, all evidence points to a negative response to both questions.

In the 21st century, reading scores among primary and secondary students are falling, as is the interest in reading books at all. In our colleges, professors from a wide array of disciplines and from both the left and the right are warning that many students, including those at elite universities, no longer read books. According to their teachers, some students lack the technical skills necessary for tackling a long or difficult text – a weak vocabulary, for instance, or the inability to track long sentences or untangle complicated arguments.

In her 2024 article “Is This the End of Reading?” Beth McMurtrie compiles thoughts from students and teachers from secondary schools and universities regarding these diminished reading capabilities compared to students just 20 or 30 years ago. Both teachers and students agree there’s a problem and cite different reasons for it, among which are the screens and social media that have normalized distraction, the poor preparation many students bring to college academics, a lack of drive when faced with challenging work, decreased academic expectations, and an inflated view among students of their own gifts and talents.

One Cal Tech student even blamed his failings on professors for not taking a personal interest in him and his classmates. “In baseball I have a coach. You need the coach to really care about you to feel like you’re enough for that team and work together…But in the classroom setting, the professor is just up there teaching without knowing who the actual person is.”

Some professors have also changed tactics that have only worsened the situation. Theresa MacPhail, an associate professor in science and technology with 15 years of experience in the classroom, has lowered her standards to accommodate the decline in her students’ ability to read at length and with understanding. McMurtrie then writes of MacPhail, “She has long followed the mantra ‘meet your students where they are.’ But she says if she meets them any further down, she’ll feel like a cruise director organizing games of shuffleboard.”

McMurtrie concludes her article with thoughts from Stuart Patterson, chair of the Shimer Great Books School at North Central College in Illinois. He notes that “we’re entering a hybrid oral-written culture” and that “We need to prepare ourselves for a drastically different future.” He then says, “If it means listening, rather than reading, OK, that’s where we’re headed. That’s what I try to be open-minded about. Humanity is going to take its course no matter what I try to do about it.”

Patterson’s bleak and helpless conclusion may well apply to humanity, but it need not apply to all students across the board. In a follow-up article, we’ll consider ways to help young people become stronger readers and more mature human beings.

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This article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal.