Textbooks are extremely useful for students, teachers, parents, and tutors. However, these instruments are not always praised and cared for as they should. In the 1970s and 1980s, a postmodern wave of criticism tried to discredit textbooks as pernicious ways of preventing teachers’ autonomy and hindering student critical abilities. However, when wisely conceived and well used, textbooks are very useful instruments for imparting knowledge, developing deep understanding of concepts, and preparing students for active learning and active participation in the society. Modern cognitive sciences have developed principles that should be used in textbook writing, textbook choice, and textbook use. Cognitive sciences can also help students on the best way to study from a textbook.