Charles Murray is a political scientist, author, and libertarian. He first came to national attention in 1984 with the publication of Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950–1980 (Basic Books, 1984), which has been credited as the intellectual foundation for the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. His 1994 New York Times bestseller, The Bell Curve (Free Press, 1994), coauthored with the late Richard J. Herrnstein, sparked heated controversy for its analysis of the role of IQ in shaping America’s class structure. His latest book, Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality (Crown Forum, 2008), provides a framework for rethinking what parents should demand from an educational system.