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Lost In The Meritocracy: The Undereducation Of An Overachiever (2008)

by Walter Kirn(Favorite Author)

3.07 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0385521286 (ISBN13: 9780385521284)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Doubleday

review 1: The author offers a succession of steps in climbing up the ladder of meritocracy in late 20th-century America. Great vignettes, interesting conclusion. He gets where he wants to go, but finds out that the meritocracy is particularly open to recruitment from the moneyed classes. Education isn't as important as power, and power comes from money and class standing. You can rise to a certain level, but no higher, like foreign service officers who will never become ambassadors to the most prestigious countries: for that you need to cultivate political relationships and put your money where your ambition is.
review 2: One of the best written books I've read in a long while. I don't normally read non-fiction, but this one is so well written that I was compelled t... moreo make an exception. Fortunately, it was easy to forget I was reading non-fiction because it reads like memoir fiction. I had a hard time putting this book down for any length time, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. Great stuff. This is my first experience with Walter Kirn. If his other books are this good, I'll be a happy camper for the next few months. less

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