Cathy A. (csa) reviewed Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There on + 45 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
An entertaining look at yuppy culture.
You've seen them: They sip double-tall, nonfat lattes, chat on cell phones, and listen to NPR while driving their immaculate SUVs to Pottery Barn to shop for $48 titanium spatulas. They tread down specialty cheese aisles in top-of-the-line hiking boots and think nothing of laying down $5 for an olive-wheatgrass muffin. They're the bourgeois bohemians--"Bobos"--an unlikely blend of mainstream culture and 1960s-era counterculture that, according to David Brooks, represents both America's present and future: "These Bobos define our age. They are the new establishment. Their hybrid culture is the atmosphere we all breathe. Their status codes now govern social life." Amusing stereotypes aside, they're an "elite based on brainpower" and merit rather than pedigree or lineage: "Dumb good-looking people with great parents have been displaced by smart, ambitious, educated, and antiestablishment people with scuffed shoes."
You've seen them: They sip double-tall, nonfat lattes, chat on cell phones, and listen to NPR while driving their immaculate SUVs to Pottery Barn to shop for $48 titanium spatulas. They tread down specialty cheese aisles in top-of-the-line hiking boots and think nothing of laying down $5 for an olive-wheatgrass muffin. They're the bourgeois bohemians--"Bobos"--an unlikely blend of mainstream culture and 1960s-era counterculture that, according to David Brooks, represents both America's present and future: "These Bobos define our age. They are the new establishment. Their hybrid culture is the atmosphere we all breathe. Their status codes now govern social life." Amusing stereotypes aside, they're an "elite based on brainpower" and merit rather than pedigree or lineage: "Dumb good-looking people with great parents have been displaced by smart, ambitious, educated, and antiestablishment people with scuffed shoes."
Bob R. reviewed Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A very humorous and insgightful look at ourselves (or, at least a large subset of ourselves). You'll probably want to read parts out loud to your closest companions.
Brian B. (nonfriction) reviewed Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There on + 26 more book reviews
A great look at what happens when crunchy-granola types start making a lot of money. Perfect update companion to the similarly humerous sociological look at the well-to-do in the Preppy Handbook.
Jennifer E. (Rugger) reviewed Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There on + 9 more book reviews
Really good read describing this group
