Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Fussell
Review: This book has a good picture of Mr. Fussell on the back. He's a foxy man
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading.
Review: This is worth reading, but Fussell's liberal bent mars the book. One example is where he points out that the upper classes don't dye their hair, but let it go grey. And the accompanying unflattering illustration is of Ronald Reagan, a senior citizen when President, with brown hair. The suggestion is that Reagan was low class because he died his hair. BUT REAGAN'S OWN BARBER SAID REAGAN DID NOT DYE HIS HAIR. His barber said he'd cut hundreds of heads, and knew the difference between dyed hair and natural colored hair, and that Reagan's brown hair was natural. This is just one example to show how Fussell's bias makes his take on things less than objective.
Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining and incisive, but with Northeast bias.
Review: I found this book to be great fun but not terribly applicable to conditions here in California. The upper-class layering look is usually not practical here, and I have yet to see the truly well off person here who drives a scuzzy car. Ties have become such a rarity for many of us that we may indeed remember the rare day when we wear one for that very reason.And about hats...evidently no headgear exists that will not inflict "class damage" on the wearer, be it fedora, prole cap, or Greek Fisherman's Hat. But what would Dr. Fussell recommend for a bald man, out walking on a chilly night? Forgive me, I forgot: in southern CA upper class people do not walk. Ever.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Interesting but not to be taken too seriously.
Review: Having lived all over the world and been exposed to very different deffinitions of the word "Class" I have often longed for a more clear deffinition of the word as it pertains to America and its society. As anyone who comes from another culture will tell you, most Americans really don't understand the meaning of the word. Although I found Fussell's interpretation of the subject amusing and got a couple of laughs out of it, I think he focused too much on modern-day sociocultural stereotypes, and very little on fact. I couldn't help but notice that his own deffinition of the "upper class" directly describes his own characteristics. Had I written this book in hope of pointing out my own fine breeding and admirable class rank, I would have been careful to make fewer references to myself. Overall, this is an amusing interpretation of the American class system, and since there is no clear deffinition of the word in our culture, one can't be too critical of Fussell's work. One would expect more from someone who openly boasts excellent teaching credentials from one of the finest educational institutions in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sociological Analysis
Review: By applying rigorous methodology and advanced statistical analysis, Professor Fussell ( PHD Harvard) has produced a concrete theory for understanding modern American class relationships and indicators. I highly recommend this book: it will enable you to place with pinpoint accuracy your status and worth in American society. Professor Fussell also includes an escapist fantasy called "X-Class." This deviates too much from mathematical norms, and proffers up the myth that you can escape your place in society.
Rating:
Summary: This is a DANGEROUS book. It should be BURNED ...
Review: ... so they can make room for more books about Madonna, Ricky Martin, Oprah's Selection of the Month, any book with "soul" in it's title, any book with "little instruction" in it's title ... READ THIS BOOK, IT WILL MAKE YOU BITTER, ANGRY and after you get over your grief, you will realized that it has CHANGED YOUR LIFE like it or not, for the better. 5 Stars is NOT enough. A BONA FIDE CLASSIC
Rating:
Summary: 1-St Class Read
Review: Anyone who is interested in sociology and merely reading a good book should check this one out. A real eye opener! A Molotov's coctail of good humor and intelectual feedback. A marvelous psychological insight into the class structure of the United States of America. A must read for any foreigner travelling or living in the US.
Rating:
Summary: As notable for whom it omits as for whom it includes
Review: Paul Fussell's book CLASS is slightly tongue-in-cheek but still very informative --- on the classes it does deal with, that is. He is virtually silent about blacks, Jews, Asians, and Hispanics, choosing instead to concentrate on the white "upper" and "middle" classes, with a lot of emphasis upon the former. Taken totally seriously, it would be a discouraging read as he insinuates that the only worthwhile college education is from one of the "better" schools, the middle class is in virtual slavery (to wages and others' opinions), and so on. His chapter on "X" class is the highlight of the entire book!
Rating: 
Summary: funny but mean spirited and self serving
Review: Fussell's serious works, most notably The Great War and Modern Memory, are masterpieces. In this book, however, he lets his nastiness roam far afield. The entire book is an elegy to himself and those he deigns worthy of his attention. It's a romp for the first few pages, but just gets more and more spiteful as it moves along.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic.
Review: After you read this book, your preception of the world will be different, and that may or may not be a good thing. This book is as outrageous as it is true.
| 
