Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: According to the New York Observer, this is an "astoundingly vapid text, which intersperses a comical parade of typographical errors throughout its dull drumbeat of name-dropping."
I agree. A friend just lent me her copy and I can hardly believe how terrible this book is.
Rating:
Summary: Lifestyles of the Rich and Shallow
Review: A look at vacuous Brooke De Ocampo and her narcissistic friends!
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the most Disgusting Book I've ever seen.
Review: Absolutely disgusting. The people in the book are creepy, self-absorbed, and worthless. DeCampo finds some odd things to glamorous as well-- such as the ashtry crammed with at least 100 cigarette butts is presented as if this is a symbol of style, elegance,and artistry. Including Moby is a joke-- as if he's the token artiste among the crowd. It only makes his pretentiousness more pronounced. The Lauder girls-- oh please. Bright young things? All these people should try getting by without a trust fund. You can't help but find this book repulsive.
Rating: 
Summary: guilty pleasure
Review: All of the disgusting things you may have heard about this book are true. But it's as irresistible as any guilty pleasure. Brooke puts the CAMP in O'Campo. If there indeed was an editor he/she must have only been looking at the pretty pictures and not the words. The tacky text with the repeated misspellings makes it all the richer. Get the 1st edition before they are corrected and own a collector's piece your friends will envy you for. Here's the clincher: This book is an absolute essential as a companion to "Flophouse: Life on the Bowery" as two artifacts that capture the contradictory essence of NYC 2000.
Rating: 
Summary: Bobos in Paradise....
Review: Despite one reviewer's harsh criticism, I found this book rather fascinating. Rather than reading some boring diatribe about self-loathing yuppies, here are a bunch of (albeit extremely privileged) people who seem to have found their niche in life - and it makes for fascinating reading! Why else do magazines like People and InStyle sell millions of copies? Many of us are fascinated by these bright young things....bourgeois bohemians all (see David Brooks' book "Bobos in Paradise" for a more detailed critique of this new upper class in America). It's easy to sneer but I defy anyone not to find it fascinating. Better than Desmond Morris' Manwatching. Ab Fab darling!
Rating: 
Summary: If i were a rich man....
Review: Ever wish you could press your nose against the window of some really wealthy young people and see their fabulous furniture? Well, here is your chance. Wow, these folks are terrific. They are all such models of hard work and creativity. You have to hand it to Brooke's Bright Young Things...they sure know how to choose the right parents.
Rating:
Summary: Decadent!
Review: I am obsessed with this book and can only describe this addiction as pure decadence. The photographs are gorgeous as are the subjects ... It is inspiring! Now, I not only want to redo my apartment, but my lifestlye!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful People of the New Millenium At Its Best!
Review: I eagerly awaited the publication of this book and was not disappointed upon receiving it. Though it lacks in literary content, the photography makes up for this greatly. Regular names from the society pages do make up the majority of this book but there are some interesting exceptions in Moby and Damien Loeb. What I like best about this book was its inclusion of unexpected views into the lives of its subjects. From a peak into Marina Rust's bookcase to Damien Loeb's ashtray, the reader gets a rare glimpse into the lives of the featured people. I feel that Brooke de Ocampo achieved her goal in creating a "Vogues Book of Houses, Gardens, People" for today. I feel that the reviews I have read of this book have been far to hard on its content. It is a must for anyone interested in society or design.
Rating:
Summary: Dim-Young-Wits
Review: I shudder to think that anyone would want to purchase this book. Fortunately, I found it at the local library. These "Bright Young Things" come off as Young Dim-wits. De Ocampo proves that one does not need talent or decorating sense to get a book published. . .one only needs the right connections, the "right friends" and a trust fund.As for those readers who see this as a work of high camp. I'd hate to think that "camp" has fallen this low.
Rating:
Summary: Slumming on Park Avenue
Review: I tried to come up with all sorts of ways to poke fun at the pretentiousness of this book, but really, what's the point? If beautiful people in New York City want to create a volume in which they can feature other beautiful people, their beautiful homes and beautiful families, and write glowingly about the beautiful lives they lead, and then sell it to themselves, the envious, and the just plain nosy, who am I to complain? Far more risible is the introduction by William Norwich, in which "these meritocrats -- don't call them aristocrats" are painted not only as the apotheosis of style, but also of social concern, enlightened world view, forward-looking design, and folks-next-door approachability. In fact, three quarters of these "meritocrats" I'd never heard of before ... and most of those whose names I recognized (Guinness, Lauder, Herrera, another Lauder, Von Furstenburg [and one of the Miller sisters], Hermès, etc.) came more from their families' prosperity and fame than from the meritocratic achievements of the individuals themselves. Still, the pictures are pretty enough, and the writing (apart from Norwich's) unobjectionable. And maybe it wasn't the subjects' fault they showed up in this embarrassing book. If one of my friends called up and said she was assembling a picture book of obscure Seattle book reviewers and wanted me in it, I might oblige her just out of friendship. But I'd make sure not to leave my copy sitting around where visitors could see it. In all, this title has a certain voyeuristic value, from the pre-September 11 era. But I hope those of us outside the rarified little world of New York Society don't take it for a lot more than that.
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