I understand what you're saying, because that is part of what suckered me into reading it ;-) After reading it, I think professional flattery among colleagues

I understand what you're saying, because that is part of what suckered me into reading it ;-) After reading it, I think professional flattery among colleagues is one thing and a true "revolutionary introduction to computer science" is another. I just really don't think it is the latter. Maybe you will...? You might save time by just watching the online Harvey videos. They cover much of the same territory in lecture format. If you're going to read Simply Scheme, then HTDP and The Little Schemer should probably come before it, not after. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Simply Scheme is a horrible book or anything...it's actually pretty good. I just have a limited amount of time for that kind of reading, and I wish I had read something else instead of it. Most of the other Scheme/CL books I've read have been either more enlightening or more practical than Simply Scheme. I think some of the constructs the authors come up with for pedagogical reasons are simply not necessary (and could potentially be confusing if you go on to actually work in Scheme.)