The publication of Herrnstein and Murray's The Bell Curve enraged readers with its controversial racial and intellectual agenda, which suggested that certain groups of children are genetically unable to learn because of their race and, therefore, unworthy of the educational attention and financial resources that flow from federal and state governments.

In Measured Lies, the first thoughtful and reasoned reading of The Bell Curve, Joe Kincheloe, Shirley Steinberg, and Aaron Gresson have assembled some of the most well-respected educators and social theorists writing today. Henry Giroux, Joyce King, Cameron McCathy, Michael Apple, Sander Gilman, Peter McLaren, and many others respond to The Bell Curve chapter by chapter, ultimately taking apart Herrnstein and Murray's argument and exposing the measured lies on which it is based. In addition, the book contains interviews with Paolo Friere, Ellen Willis, Ivor Goodson, and Stanley Aronowitz.

Measured Lies is a searing indictment of racism and the way individuals can use it to subvert truth and amass power.