Otto Peters is widely recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on distance education. His theory of distance education as the most industrialized form of education is the most original and far reaching analysis of distance education yet produced. This book brings together the best of Peters' work, most of which has not been previously available in the English language. Drawing on German sociologists and philosophers of education from Weber and Tonnies to Heimann and Schultz, Peters builds up an impressive analysis of the advantages and defects of the industrialization of education. The essays in this collection cover the historical development of teaching and learning at a distance, from the correspondence schools of the 1950s through to distance education in the post-industrial societies of today. The book also includes a fascinating account of Peters' central role in the foundation and running of the FernUniversitat, the German Open University.