Peggy L. (paigu) reviewed on 3/18/2009 + 120 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Entertaining, but the only controversy is the way Mr. Douthat tries to distance himself from the "privileged class" at Harvard, even though he lets it slip that his name, his "good looks" (tall, thin, preppy beard) and his pedigree/background (CT suburb/Yale parents) would help "qualify" him as such. Also, Mr. Douthat does more than a bit name-dropping (in the guise of storytelling) that shows that, despite his "I'm not one of them" act, he is still "in". However, he does have an engaging way of writing and describing the people around him. The chapter about his dorm mates was worth the whole book put together, I think. Read this and cringe (and laugh) as you remember those horrendous college years...

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