Dumbing us down

Is the title of a book by John Taylor Gatto that seems to have fired up a lot of homeschool parents out there.

I am constantly fighting the temptation to pick up every book people tell me they loved... but I think I am going to give in and read this one.  Homeschool blogger Edie wrote oh-so-passionately about it here.

I tend not to like anything that's extremely one-sided when it comes to homeschooling because our own motivations for schooling at home stem from things much less controversial or defensive.  We just want to be able to minister to our children all day and have the freedom and flexibility to do what we feel called to do when we feel called to do it.  Not having to submit our children to the flaws of formal compulsory schooling is just icing on the cake BUT I'm not naive enough to believe there will not be flaws in our own homeschooling system.... it's all give and take, I suppose.

I have a sneaking suspicion this book falls in the controversial category but I must know what all the fuss is about... 

Has anyone read it?  What was your impression of it?