PurposeTo provide readers with a summary and appraisal of the book, Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility.Design/methodology/approachAfter a thorough examination of the text, its value is considered from the perspective of a university faculty member who is interested in the development of citizen education programs.FindingsEducating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility provides a thought‐provoking case for the development of civic and moral learning programs at undergraduate institutions. Using their research at 12 diverse higher learning institutions, the authors highlight the importance of and impediments to developing citizen education programs and go further to define and establish goals for such programs. Detailed strategies on how to incorporate civic learning into the classroom, curriculum programs, extracurricular activities, and the institution at large are also evaluated.Research limitations/implicationsThis review is written from the perspective of a faculty member at a large US public university. While there are many commonalities between perspectives from the diversity of higher learning institutions, there are likely to be some differences.Practical implicationsThis review provides the reader with insight into Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility and will aid in the decision to examine this text.Originality/valueGiven that citizen education initiatives are gaining international recognition, the reader is likely to gain further understanding into how colleges and universities are approaching the increasing demand for civic learning.