Van Cleve, who taught history at Gallaudet U. (Washington, DC), the only liberal arts college for the deaf and hard of hearing, introduces nine illustrated essays that challenge stereotypes by former students and others associated with the deaf community. They provide historical perspectives on deaf identity and education in the US, and call for broader scholarship on issues of importance to the deaf community. For example, one author weighs Alexander Graham Bell's mixed legacy as a eugenicist who nonetheless supported reproductive rights for the deaf.