Those who attend meetings of University Councils or Sen-ates, or who visit the glossy corridors that house the ever-expanding senior administrations, with their ever-expanding ranks of deputy, pro, assistant and assistant pro-vice-chancellors, many of whom have had little contact with teaching and research, might well wonder about the purpose of our contemporary universities, and whether CBD-type buildings and glossy brochures a great university do make.

Williams has no doubts about what makes great universities. He is absolutely certain that they are made by their academic staff through their contributions to knowledge and the quality of their teaching. As to the survival of the traditional university, Williams is cautiously optimistic. If academics continue to subscribe to, and to practise, ethical values (defined, following Eric Ashby, as reverence for truth coupled with tolerance of error, egalitarianism and internationalism), and to strive for excellence in teaching, research and examining, and if governing bodies keep a watchful brief on the fit of their institutions and procedures to contemporary society and its present and future needs, then many of our universities can survive as ‘places’ where free enquiry and critical learning flourish.

Williams thus presents a defence of the traditional élitist university that moulded him and to which he has committed his long career. This institution may not survive, even if it should. But the aims and values that Williams outlines need to be followed and defended. Making and Breaking Universities is an important document for the history of tertiary education in Australia, revealing as it does the roles and views of one of its major participants over the past half century.