Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 247 pages
- Published by: Workman Publishing Company June 19, 2008
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0761147039
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0761147039
-
Book Dimensions:
8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 11.2 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Those top-drawer trendies from the 1980
Official Preppy Handbook have grown older and richer; it's time now to tweak the lifestyles of the über-rich, people Tennant, one-time columnist for the
New York Post's Page Six gossip column and cofounder of
Radar magazine, knows well. Tennant opens with a plutocrat primer, a sketchbook detailing various Filthy Rich types, from hedgers to heirheads. Chapters follow on where to buy homes and how to hire staff, especially that jewelry handler who carries illicit substances for high-echelon rappers. Vacations are another big issue, involving whole new wardrobes and leisure activities. Sports are great for conspicuous consumption of time and money; the most desirable sports, like fly fishing, big-game hunting or polo, can involve special vacations of their own. Even simple sports like golf require joining the right club; Tennant's matter-of-fact listing of the clubs' discriminatory barriers speaks for itself. Then, since to heir is divine, there's a chapter on having children—which boils down to buying the most exclusive baby buggy, hiring the least marriage-threatening nanny and picking the most ego-satisfying boarding school. Jazzy page layouts and endless name-dropping make for a great tongue-in-cheek humor book.
(June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Review
"[A] decadent road map to help you navigate through private-school admissions, choppy regatta waters, and the global social circuit." — Vanity Fair (
Vanity Fair )
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Reader ReviewsMaking money is one thing, acquiring the tasteful mannerisms of the rich is another. This book helps newly minted money acquire the ways of old money. I can't even begin to tell how many times I've met the noveau riche, and they've annoyed the heck out of me during the summer parties I've hosted in Newport, RI. I've instructed my butler to discreetly slip a copy of this book in the offender's butler's pocket so they may acquire better manners and taste. These days, when I'm called on to deliver commencement addresses at sundry universities, I always make it a point to mention the book so that the kids know how to behave as soon as they sell their first dot-com. I'm also sponsoring translations of the book into both Chinese and Hindi so the newly rich from those countries can fit into our social scene here. One final thought... show some taste by acquiring the hardcover. Leave the paperbacks to the staff "downstairs".