This book is very much a biological chronology, describing the early lives and then presidencies of MIT's early presidents and high level administrative changes that occurred during their tenures. The failed merger with Harvard due to a Supreme Court ruling was fascinating to learn about, but otherwise it's probably more useful as a reference for those studying MIT or higher education administration rather than a book to read straight through. There are a bit of stats on enrollment, but the actual activity within the institute (research, student distribution across majors, etc.) is mostly absent.