THE BOOK describes the school that is being run democratically by students themselves and they are doing good and learning as well. The school has a self-imposed discipline that provides a joyous learning environment. The school was founded as an experiment on the basis of the psychoanalytical finding in education and family practice exists in a village near London. It is a small school of fifty odd children with vertical grouping of children of 5 to 15 years in age with 10 odd facilitators.

The book describes how this residential school is run by students with the motto of freedom with two simple rules related to the safety of children and other management principles decided and changed by students themselves. The Indian edition of the book has been published by Bhopal-based NGO called Eklavya. The book is very candid about criticizing the mainstream education and conventional practices of parenthood and child rearing, but it also provides alternatives for bringing up and educating children who respect their and other’s freedoms.

According to the author, discipline when dogmatically imposed coupled with punishment creates fear as well as hostility to thwart sound psychic development of children. Furthermore, Neill holds that the respect and love for children and trust in their potential to learn are the preconditions for children to understand the world intellectually, emotionally and artistically and transform it dynamically.

The book is a worthwhile reading to all concerned with right kind of education to children for happy and meaning lives along with learning various subjects.  The book aids for a critical reflection on the mainstream education. All over the world the book has been used for teacher training and sensitization courses.