• Nonfiction.

By Alec Klein. Simon & Schuster, $25.

Grade: A-

Book in a nutshell: Scanning a list of Stuyvesant High School's alumni is like reading a who's who of American science and culture. Its roster touts four Nobel Prize winners, as well as some of the greatest thinkers and artists of the 20th century.

Founded in 1904 on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, Stuyvesant has morphed from a manual training school for boys into one of the country's leading public high schools. With its studies based largely on science and math, this traditional training ground for schools like Harvard and Yale relies on rigorous entrance exams for admission. The program fosters a high-pressure atmosphere in which students and their parents commonly lament a grade in the mid- or lower 90s as a tragic, inexcusable failure.

Stuyvesant alum and Washington Post staffer Klein revisits his academic roots for the 2005-2006 school year, detailing the school's eccentric and brilliant personalities. There's Romeo, a junior who is as committed to acing the SATs, volunteering for a research project at NYU and getting into Harvard as he is to practicing football.

Jane is a talented poet - and also a heroin addict. Milo is a 10-year-old prodigy taking math classes at Stuyvesant, trying to navigate between the expansive power of his intellect and the awkward role of being a child in a high school.

With Klein's detailed sketches of students and teachers, as well as his insights into the institution's history, he creates a vivid portrait of a school where learning is prized by all.

Best tidbit: The pressure doesn't come just from the students. Klein writes: "Irate, overbearing parents are a common phenomenon at Stuyvesant. One parent called Mr. Waxman, the Hebrew teacher, to ask, 'Is there something wrong with my son?' There wasn't. The father then wanted an explanation for his son's grade. 'Why did he only get a ninety-eight?' "

Pros: Klein does a balanced job of highlighting the school's advantages, while addressing the darker undercurrents. He also divests himself of his role as an alum, writing with journalistic objectivity.

Cons: The accounts of staff meetings, student meetings, parent-teacher meetings and student union meetings may lose readers looking for more action.

Final word: This is a gripping view of a school where "nerd" is considered, by the majority of students, an honored title.