Rating: 
Summary: A Witty , Elegant , CLASSIC!!
Review: I am hard pressed to recall a humor book that was so very well done, that academics routinely cite examples from its pages. The Official Preppy Handbook has achieved that.Lisa Birnbach and company, successfully documented the lives of the Prep School set, from youth to retirement. Along the way they explore in a brilliant and witty way, the mindset and lifestyle of this group. You learn immediately that being a Preppy is well beyond going to a private school. Preps exude Noblesse Oblige, while wearing Lacoste polos and drinking Bloody Mary's. You learn about their cars, colleges, clothes, food, jobs, music, pets, what they read and how they decorate their houses. You learn what "To Summer," REALLY means. You even learn their speech patterns, and prep vocabulary. Along the way you have a lot of laughs, while getting an education about what makes these people tick. Years later, I still pull out my pristine copy not only for laughs, but for reference as well. In recent years others have tried to follow this groundbreaking formula only to have missed the mark. You will find many books with: "In the traditon of The Preppy Handbook" in their titles. They do not even come close. Sadly, this artifact is out of print. Perhaps someone will start a letter writing campaign to Workman Publishers, begging them to reprint it. It is REALLY that good!
Rating:
Summary: Long Live Preppiness
Review: I begged Mummy and Daddy to let me go board, but they said they were saving for the Ivies. I ended up at an Ivy and wished it were one of the schools listed as a party school in OPH. Man, talking about literature imitating life. Holden Caulfield, eat your heart out! When I tell people about the way I dressed and how I spent every dime on those Gucci loafers they just look at me like I have three heads. People still sweat the cashmere blazer. Who wouldn't? You will love this book especially if you were one of the few people that grew up in the eighties that still has pictures they aren't embarrased to show others! My copy is from the library. It seems I lost it...;-) The fine was only 10 bucks and was worth every PREPPY PENNY!
Rating:
Summary: To sock or not to sock?
Review: I bought this book in 1982 and am fortunate enough to still have it. I suppose now it seems rather dated and ridiculous, but it brings back memories of a time when life was somewhat wonderful. Let's face it, deciding whether or not to wear socks with your top siders might seem trivial nowadays, but back then it was an earth-shattering decision. It's too bad that this book is out of print, it serves as a reminder and totem of life during the 80s which seems rather innocent and quaint by today's fashions/morales.
Rating: 
Summary: Americans can laugh at themselves!
Review: I bumped into this book completely by accident, digging into a box of donated books to a children's project. I'm not ashamed to say I kept it to myself. As a foreigner, it took me a while to saw all the cultural pieces that form the background quilt such book requests from their readers but I got it. I just consider it a must-read device to all non-Americans trying to understand the complexities of the U.S. It's funny, it's got wit, its's got style, and believe me, I'm from a country where public body exposition is mistaken as sexual health, $100,000,00 dollar cars are "de rigueur" (as are the occasional dropping of French expressions), and everybody longs for a Versace, overgarnished piece of clothing.
Rating:
Summary: Tropical preppiness
Review: I first learned of the book from an American magazine's "Wish List" and was somewhat intrigued by what it was about. When I got my copy I was somewhat disappointed by the fact that there was so little fashion advice (the book focuses more on behavior and things preppies do). It was still loads of fun to read on my vacations (especially coupled with a few movies about preppies from the eighties), though it hardly added new knowledge about the preppy world.
Rating:
Summary: To all NE boarding school preppies...this one is for you!
Review: I first stumbled across this book my sophomore year, in the basement of my dormitory at a prestigious MA boarding school. The reader warned me, "This book will become your life," and boy was she right. The book clearly identifies everything about high society that you couldnt quite explain...from the mocassins to the lacoste shirts to the preppy-type bohemians. My boarding school was the epitomy of Prep, and if you attend one of these fine institutions you will find yourself crying of laughter at the mockery mingled with dead-on accuracy. This book is a great find and an even better keep. I just wish they could add North-Face Jackets and Herve Chapelier bags to the clothing guide.
Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: I had heard of this book before, but had never actually looked through it until recently, and once I started looking I couldn't put it down! Even though it was published before I was even born everything in it is still true! I loved to read that the school I went to for 14 years of my life was the #1 co-ed prep school! This book is just fun to read, even if it is insane how true it still is!
Rating:
Summary: Great book, funny and true at the same time
Review: I received a copy of this book as a "Secret Santa" gift in college, because it it screamed my name according to the gift giver. Later, my friends chose a nickname from the pages of the book, only to choose the same nickname my grandfather had all his life. The tongue-in-cheek nature of the book is priceless, but at the end of the day, Birnbach hits the mark so well. Her humour and truth at the same time bacame a hallmark in later books, like her "Guide to Colleges". A definite must read and must own. If you can find the "I Hate Preppies Handbook" it makes a nice companion.
Rating:
Summary: OMG this book is still around?! Great!
Review: I'm 34 and my daughter is napping and I must have nothing to do because I entered the book's title in Google just to see what would pop up. Well to my great surprise it's still on the market. I bought my copy in 1981 or 1982 when I was in middle school and being preppy was all the rage. Not that I went to prep school or was cool or anything like that, but I still really enjoyed the book. It's so fuuny and yet so accurate. I still have my copy and was thumbing through it the other day, which is what made me wonder what would show up on google. I have one of those original out-of-print copies that someone was glorifying, but nobody is gonna see it but me b/c I'm not showing anyone those embarassing notes I make as a 12-year-old. LOL, it's still around.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto to all, no, quadruple dittos ||.........loved it....
Review: If you have young men and women between 13 and 19, it is not just for the no-socks, but very interesting to all.
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