Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There

by David Brooks

3.58 · Rating details · 3,365 Ratings · 380 Reviews

Do you believe that spending $15,000 on a media center is vulgar, but that spending $15,000 on a slate shower stall is a sign that you are at one with the Zenlike rhythms of nature? Do you work for one of those visionary software companies where people come to work wearing hiking boots and glacier glasses, as if a wall of ice were about to come sliding through the parking ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Paperback, 288 pages

Published March 6th 2001 by Simon Schuster (first published 2000)

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Bobos in Paradise, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Bobos in Paradise

Lists with This Book

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Best Non-Fiction (non biography)

4,225 books — 6,155 voters

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Best books for business

161 books — 213 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

filter | sort: default (?) | Rating Details

Jul 19, 2007 Jason rated it liked it

David Brooks is, for lack of a better term, David Brooks. He has two schticks. First is conservative politics presented in a manner palatable to the readership of The New York Times and the viewers of the PBS News Hour. Second is pop anthropological commentary on perceived cultural phenomena. Bobos in Paradise falls into the latter category. "Bobo", a long common term in French of identical meaning, is hipspeak for bourgeois bohemian -- liberals with $$$ and status. The problem, however, is that ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2009 Katie rated it it was ok

I came back to review this book because my friend and I were talking about it at work the other day. The book IS funny, but I disagree with Brooks’ summary and endnote that this new “Bourgeois Bohemian” establishment is somehow any better than the upper/middle classes of previous generations. Okay, so they buy sustainably made bamboo furniture. This doesn’t make them any better than the elites of other generations—in fact, I would argue that it makes them worse. Whereas the previous generation m I came back to review this book because my friend and I were talking about it at work the other day. The book IS funny, but I disagree with Brooks’ summary and endnote that this new “Bourgeois Bohemian” establishment is somehow any better than the upper/middle classes of previous generations. Okay, so they buy sustainably made bamboo furniture. This doesn’t make them any better than the elites of other generations—in fact, I would argue that it makes them worse. Whereas the previous generation may have bought new Caddys and held scotch-soaked pool parties to impress their friends, this generation of elites buys organic cotton shirts from American Apparel. They are still trying to impress people---now, not just with their money (although it’s certainly that too), but also with their virtue. Brooks says that they have succeeded because of some new system of meritocracy (I don’t believe this for a minute—“smart” is not necessarily how I would categorize this group—maybe just “alternatively ambitious”), and they wind up working for companies that “do things differently” and “think outside the box.” They are the bastard children of 80s yuppie greed and 60s hippie idealism. All of this turns into a self-reinforcing cycle of smugness, and the worst part is, because these people have read the Beats, because they’ve been educated by the anti-establishment types, THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER. It makes them so much more crass, at least, to my mind.

But what do I know? I only taught yoga to these people. I can tell you that they still treat their service-industry workers like shit (that never stops being cool, regardless of which elite group you belong to). I hoped that by teaching them how to stretch their hips right and by alleviating their lower back pain they wouldn’t necessarily chew out the barista who screwed up their daily espresso. I doubt that it worked.

Anyway, this book, and the book/blog it has been compared to a lot (Stuff White People Like) is still a pretty funny read, but I’m looking forward to the day when a Bret Easton Ellis or Chuck Palahniuk type writes a dark satire about them, á la American Psycho. Instead of killing hookers, will they simply delete each other’s jpegs of that amazing trip they took to Thailand last year, where they did nothing but eat authentic street food, ride mopeds and live out of a backpack?

The other problem I have with this book is that David Brooks lets his obnoxious conservative values slip out a lot, and when his core personality shines through it’s hard not to find him fundamentally unlikable.
...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2013 GoldGato rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Putin

Shelves: non-fiction, year-round

Dionysius, the god of abandon, has been reconciled with Prometheus, the god of work.

That sentence aptly describes the Bobo. What, you may ask, is a Bobo? A Bourgeois Bohemian. In essence, they are the New Establishment, having replaced the pure Yuppies who replaced the pure Hippies who replaced the Beats who replaced the Old Establishment. Bobo.

Lady Chatterley's lover becomes Lady Chatterley's empowerment counselor.

You might know a Bobo. Perhaps, you are one yourself. They tend to cluster in urb ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 06, 2007 leighcia rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

Though it’s not necessary to read the whole book, the introduction and opening chapters provide a good characterization of my generation and my social class. Brooks describes today’s new upper class—the Bobos—Bourgeois Bohemians. While earlier in the 20th century and before, the bourgeois and bohemians existed in separate social and economic circles (the bourgeois dominating with “old money” and all the financial resources, the bohemian artists gathering in their coffeeshops and run-down neighbo ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

May 19, 2008 Liz Wright rated it it was amazing

I don’t think it’s possible for me to write down everything I think about this book into one review. I think the review would end up being as long as the book. I will try to hit the main points of my impressions without going on for too long though.
My first thought is that Brooks’ description of bobo (bohemian and bourgeoisie) culture and behavior is highly entertaining and right on target. I’ve known many people like this (and would myself be classified as a bobo) and can see them and myself i ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2014 Beth rated it it was ok

Basically? OH SHUT UP, David Brooks. I wanted it to be good. In fact, it was a rather smug field guide; nothing revelatory, no meaningful/mature analysis. You might as well re-read The Official Preppie Handbook.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 10, 2008 Izlinda rated it liked it

Shelves: for-college, sociology

I'm stuck between a 3.5 and a four for this, but decided to round down. (Bad math, I know.)

Put into context, this is a required reading for my Introduction to Sociology course. While I'm glad not to read a textbook full of stodgy statistics and all, this book started to get on my nerves near the end.

Brooks is an editor/writer for several papers, I believe (at least at the time of printing) so his book does generally read like a collection of articles instead of a continuous book. His tone is ind ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 19, 2011 Vincent rated it really liked it

Really there is no better observer of American culture right now than David Brooks. He is so damn critical of our collective lameness and this book is well worth it.
It had been on my to-read list for a while: there are many pop culture references to "bobos" and I wanted to know more about the definition.
Bobos are a combination of overly-paid upper middle class elitists who like to act like they are crunchy and down to earth and anything but elite.
What makes it funny is the inconsistency of that ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Mark rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, sociology

I read Bobos in Paradise because I like David Brooks' columns and I really enjoyed "The Social Animal."

The title is a nod to what Brooks describes as the merging (or rather reconciliation) of Bourgeois with Bohemian cultural values and ways of living and how this reconciliation has transformed middle class culture within the U.S. In fact, he invents the word "Bobos" to label this new educated class of people who embrace key components of both cultural forces that seemed irreconcilable not so lo I read Bobos in Paradise because I like David Brooks' columns and I really enjoyed "The Social Animal."

The title is a nod to what Brooks describes as the merging (or rather reconciliation) of Bourgeois with Bohemian cultural values and ways of living and how this reconciliation has transformed middle class culture within the U.S. In fact, he invents the word "Bobos" to label this new educated class of people who embrace key components of both cultural forces that seemed irreconcilable not so long ago. The author does a wonderful job placing spot-on observations about modern consumerist life into the context of this massive cultural blending of previously opposing forces - bourgeois and bohemian. He put into context and provided a plausible explanation for several trends that have become ubiquitous such as the commercial success of the organic and local food movements, the commercial success and normalization of so much of what once was considered rebellious hippie culture, and the changing values that underpin these shifts.

While "Bobos" satisfied in many ways, it also disappointed. I admit that reading it several years after it was written, and reading it after The Social Animal kind of set me up for disappointment because his descriptions of "current" consumerism was rendered prior to the recent recession, making some of the extreme examples he uses as evidence less relevant and certainly not as current. While I don't think the recession has changed the cultural and consumerist shifts Brooks describes, the descriptions are occasionally outdated. I also think the "Social Animal" incorporated many of his Bobos insights into a more coherent package.

My favorite chapter was the treatment of Bobo spirituality. Based on my own experiences and my own study, I think Brooks nails this topic! He observes that Bobo spirituality is far more experience based and far less dogmatic - whether one chooses traditional church/synagogue participation or more humanist pursuits to address your spiritual needs. The church goers are less inclined to us vs. them thinking and more inclined to tolerance toward those of other faiths and lifestyles. Dogmatic rules, ritual, and ceremony are de-emphasized or even rejected while morality and virtuous behavior (especially when it comes to the virtues of tolerance, equal rights, and human dignity as opposed to the virtues of piety, proper manners and dress, etc..) At the same time, he accurately assesses that traditional religions - vehicles for spiritual pursuit - lose much ground when the ritual, ceremony, and community duty are ignored. His descriptions and analysis of these aspects of this modern culture ring true for me and his conclusion that while Bobo spirituality has probably made us a more moral people (less racism, sexism, etc...) it has also potentially un-moored us from the traditional institutions that have informed human spirituality for so long with some likely unpleasant side effects. We've gained much but, we may be in danger of losing much at the same time and there's no telling exactly where this will lead for the future of human spirituality.

The book reads like a series of essays - which in fairness it is, kind of. This led me to be delighted with some chapters, like those devoted to the descriptions and analysis of the forces and timelines of Bourgeois Culture and Bohemian counterculture, and disappointed with some others, such as the descriptions of Bobo intellectual life and Bobo travel. Both of these chapters, while sometimes funny in a snarky way, seemed to focus on a much more narrow subset of the larger bobo experience that the rest of the book describes. In fact, I wondered if these chapters weren't a little more autobiographical than the rest. In fact, the self-deprecating humor (at least deprecating to the Bobo culture that Mr. Brooks self identifies with) was sometimes more annoying than funny as it attempted to both praise and poke fun of the accomplishments of Bobo culture.

I do appreciate Mr. Brook's cultural and sociological observations in the book and his thesis overall that the current generation of educational and financial "elites" in our country have successfully melded the best parts of both Bourgeois and Bohemian sensibilities making much about life in America and the western world better while still reconciling the age old conflict underlying these two movements. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2009 Emilia P rated it liked it

Shelves: real-books

My feelings on this book are mixed, though I think I maintain my affection for David Brooks. He explores the culture of bourgeois bohemianism and it's implications for our society in terms of things like business, intellectual culture, play, politics, and spiritual life. I do, in many ways, feel like a product of the society where intellect is a marketable, capitalism is about choice and social consciousness and creativity (on the surface at least), and questioning authority is mandatory. I gues My feelings on this book are mixed, though I think I maintain my affection for David Brooks. He explores the culture of bourgeois bohemianism and it's implications for our society in terms of things like business, intellectual culture, play, politics, and spiritual life. I do, in many ways, feel like a product of the society where intellect is a marketable, capitalism is about choice and social consciousness and creativity (on the surface at least), and questioning authority is mandatory. I guess I'm glad for it in some ways, but also hate some of it-- things like "meaningful" tourism, flexodoxy, needing everything to have "texture", wearing serious hiking gear all the damn time.

The title of this book says that is about the Upper Class but that left a sour taste in my mouth. For one: I think the Upper Class he is talking about did not adopt bohemianism so much as co-opt it. He sort of suggests the Protestant Work Ethic got destroyed, but I sort of think it got worse--everything, even pleasure, is an edifying, intellectual experience. Barf. Also, I guess I wanted to know, for personal and maybe political reasons, more about the implications of this shift to Boboism for the Folk, the lower-middle class and heaven forfend, the poor. In some ways, I think it is more insulting than old-school upper-class stodginess. Smarts aren't everything, but equating smarts so clearly with class has lots of implications that make me grumpy. And shit like: Bobos like small towns and authentic people and authentic church and preservation efforts and stuff like that but only insomuch as they enjoy it...guh. Makes me feel like Boboism is as much about detachment and loftiness as anything else. Yuck. Some people care about things with their hearts and stuff.

In the end, I think this is an interesting, and fairly convincing. argument for the face of today's upper class, but I think it has troubling implications that Brooks glosses over. Or maybe didn't really intend to cover. It reminded me of history classes I took on popular culture in college, and made me think of the wheel of respectability from Mr. Sutton's class in high school. I will take the sincerity of the Rough any day... does saying this make me sort of Bobo-ish? Yeah. It probably does.

P.S. I think my parents are just straight-up Bohemians. I like them. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 14, 2010 Michael rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My harsh critique (and this book doesn’t deserve harsh; it’s good, fun, and interesting) is that this is an Atlantic or New Yorker or Vanity Fair article that was expanded into a book. When I got to the end and read the acknowledgements, it turns out I was right. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it. However, his unifying theme is really not supported by what he writes about.

Regardless, the parts are still very fun and well written. The individual chapters make internally logical sense but I don’t se My harsh critique (and this book doesn’t deserve harsh; it’s good, fun, and interesting) is that this is an Atlantic or New Yorker or Vanity Fair article that was expanded into a book. When I got to the end and read the acknowledgements, it turns out I was right. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it. However, his unifying theme is really not supported by what he writes about.

Regardless, the parts are still very fun and well written. The individual chapters make internally logical sense but I don’t see them connected enough to be a theme or theory. I believe the idea of the U.S. elite shifting from WASPs to a meritocracy of education. I don’t know if the new elite share all of the values that he ascribes to them. I very much enjoyed his view of the life cycle of a public intellectual. I don’t really buy his new corporate person. The consumer chapter is the weakest on theory, but the funniest by describing some consumer types and poking fun at what we’ve become (guilty as charged).

My other critique of the book is that he uses his unifying bobos theme and seems to consider this group rather cynically instead of people looking to inject human values in their lives, relationships, and jobs. Maybe the values they espouse (and sometimes live) of tolerance, respect for the environment, awareness of consumption and over consumption are attempts to address real world concerns and not a self-interested one-upsmanship or narcissistic self-actualization. He has some evidence and he has his opinion but he can’t really tie it all together.

The description of those in the information/idea economy of think tanks and policy (pp. 153-156, “How to be an Intellectual Giant”) is pitch perfect – likely because he, as a columnist, has had people just like this doing his “hard work of researching, thinking and writing.” Now I’m not saying that I’m an intellectual, but that description does reverberate with me. A great read that will make you think a bit, but more likely to smile and laugh. Just don’t try to accept the theory or unifying theme too much. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 22, 2008 Justine rated it liked it

Shelves: library

Brooks' work of "comic sociology" is essentially a grown-up, much better researched version of my favorite blog "Stuff White People Like." Unlike the blog, it uses a loose historical basis that is semi-rigorously researched and has a general theory that it espouses. Like the blog, it is hilarious.

Brooks himself is a bobo (read, bourgeois bohemian, or the new class of privilege that got here by working hard and being smart rather than being entitled (such as the old WASPS)) so by the golden rule ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2014 Alex rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: the year 2000

Shelves: 2014

There's a half-decent New Yorker article in here...and then pages upon pages of padding. The chapter on "Intellectual Life" is nothing more than a procession of easy jokes about talking heads; "Spiritual Life" contains no mention, bizarrely, of the concept of atheism; and "Politics" reminds one painfully that this book was written at the tail end of Clinton's administration, before GW Bush ended the concept of everyone getting along. If you like jokes about Restoration Hardware, by all means, re ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2016 Anita rated it really liked it

yeah i mean the thing is, David Brooks is a good writer and funny and in many parts painfully accurate about my life goals and consumption habits, and even if i don't like his end-of-the-day warning that Lacking Real Authentic Patriotism, America Will Fall Apart, the guy has got real talent writing self-loathing comedy.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2015 James Eckman rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction

Really a very lightweight read with amusing anecdotes, but the basic premise, that there's a new upper class, is not proven in any way. It doesn't age well either, being written just before the various crashes and the Bush presidency.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2017 Vladimir Smirnov rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Хочу аудиоверсию книги, где голосом Дроздова будут рассказывать, что бобо появился после спаривания яппи и хиппи.

Если серьезно, то книга является исследованием социокультурного феномена появления креативного среднего класса. Автор выражает очень интересное мнение о причине раскола богемы и буржуазии в разрезе истории и раскрывает дальнейшие года сосуществования и соперничества.

Помимо этого, Дэвид Брукс неплохо умеет в иронию, даже самоиронию, чем без угрызений совести и пользуется, описывая оче Хочу аудиоверсию книги, где голосом Дроздова будут рассказывать, что бобо появился после спаривания яппи и хиппи.

Если серьезно, то книга является исследованием социокультурного феномена появления креативного среднего класса. Автор выражает очень интересное мнение о причине раскола богемы и буржуазии в разрезе истории и раскрывает дальнейшие года сосуществования и соперничества.

Помимо этого, Дэвид Брукс неплохо умеет в иронию, даже самоиронию, чем без угрызений совести и пользуется, описывая очередной виток эволюции консьюмеризма, когда люди покупают за огромные деньги то, что еще 100 лет назад догорало бы в печи домика для прислуги морозным январским утром.

Но у книги есть проблема. Где-то после 45% она становится жутко скучной. Мне кажется, автор это и сам понимал, пытаясь разбавить описание сублимации юной особы, которая носит чемоданы за шефом и страдает, что живет в дешевом жилье, не соответствующим ее высокому социальному статусу, историями про половую жизнь современной молодежи, девиации и как просто ко всему этому относятся в современном мире.

Стоит ли читать? Да, по крайней мере половину книги. Ну а там, если вдруг стало скучно, то можете смело забрасывать. Ответа на самый главный вопрос Жизни, Вселенной и вообще на последней странице вы не обнаружите. Как и на то, почему при всей исключительности бобо и тотальным проникновением во все сферы жизни, президентом США стает Трамп, который олицетворяет полную противоположность их идеалам. Но это я так, книга была написана задолго до того, как подобное вообще могло кому-то в голову прийти. Видимо, мы с вами стали свидетелями очередного этапа вечной борьбы новаторов и консерваторов с временным перевесом в сторону вторых. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 12, 2017 Александр Шушпанов rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Решил вот перечитать - понял, что в первый раз читал, не особенно вытаскивая полезные для себя отсылки, скорее, как развлекательное чтение. Читал я её прошлым летом, потом книга перезимовала у меня на краю стола, в конечном итоге я взял её с собой в поездку на праздники.

Всё ещё рекомендую это эссе желающим иронически взглянуть на бобо-хипстеров - хотя, казалось бы, от этого класса и так камня на камне не оставили за те годы, которые нам приходится их наблюдать. Описываемый статусно-доходный дисб ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2014 Rj rated it it was amazing

Just finished David Brooks' Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How they Got There (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000). Brooks, a self-identified bobo acting as an anthropologist and sociologist with a sense of humour tries to define the new educated class that he calls BoBos. "The member of the new information age elite are bourgeois bohemian. Or, to take the first two letters of each word, they are Bobos." (11) The term is a combination of two terms and groups that traditionally hav Just finished David Brooks' Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How they Got There (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000). Brooks, a self-identified bobo acting as an anthropologist and sociologist with a sense of humour tries to define the new educated class that he calls BoBos. "The member of the new information age elite are bourgeois bohemian. Or, to take the first two letters of each word, they are Bobos." (11) The term is a combination of two terms and groups that traditionally have sat in opposition to each other, the bourgeoise and bohemians that shared values that were opposed to each other but Brooks argues that in the late 1980s and early 1990s they merged to become the new educated class. Looking at social trends from the 1950s through to the 1990s he sees swings in cultural ideologies and values that sometimes favour one group over the other. As education and information became increasingly more important the social group which came of age in the 1980s culled values and attitudes from both groups becoming the new group of Bobos.

For anyone interested in how this particular group developed historically and how they relate to consumer capitalism this book is a must read. Brooks analysis is probing, funny and often witty.

"The information age has produced entirely new job categories, some of which seem like practical jokes, though you wouldn't know it from the salaries: creativity officer, chief knowledge officer, team spirit coordinator. Then there are the jobs that nobody dreamed of in high school: Web page designer, patent agent, continuity writer, foundation program officer, talk show booker, and on and on." 37

"Indeed, one of the upshots of the new era is that Karl Marx may have had it exactly backward. He argued that classes are defined by their means of production. But it could be true that, in the information age at least, classes define themselves by their means of consumption." 61

"It used to be thought that the pursuit of profit inevitably crushes values. But now many companies have determined that good values lead to greater profits-as long as there is a large educated populace willing to pay a little extra for the sake of social progress." 109

"What's happened is simple enough. The Bobos have invaded the business world, and they have brought their countercultural mental framework with them to the old conference rooms of the bourgeoise. It's no accident that the Bay Area, the centre of the Summer of Love, is now also the home base for a disproportionate number of educated-class retailers, like the Gap, Restoration Hardware and Williams-Sonoma." 111

"We Bobos have taken the bourgeois imperative to strive and succeed, and we have married it to the bohemian impulse to experience new sensations. The result is a set of social regulations constructed to encourage pleasures that are physically, spiritually, and intellectually useful while stigmatizing ones that are useless or harmful. In this way the Protestant Work Ethic has been replaced by the Bobo Play Ethic, which is equally demanding." 200
...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2007 James rated it really liked it

David Brooks is a fine writer. I have always enjoyed his articles in the Weekly Standard, the Atlantic Monthly, and currently his column in the New York Times. He is a whimsical observer of American life. His writing has an inductive quality about it. He writes about slate shower stalls, cappuccino bars, eco-tourism, and the like. Pretty soon he has painted a landscape of American cultural trends. In the introduction of "Bobos in Paradise," Brooks describes his method: "The idea is to get at the David Brooks is a fine writer. I have always enjoyed his articles in the Weekly Standard, the Atlantic Monthly, and currently his column in the New York Times. He is a whimsical observer of American life. His writing has an inductive quality about it. He writes about slate shower stalls, cappuccino bars, eco-tourism, and the like. Pretty soon he has painted a landscape of American cultural trends. In the introduction of "Bobos in Paradise," Brooks describes his method: "The idea is to get at the essence of cultural patterns, getting the flavor of the times without trying to pin it down with meticulous exactitude" (pg 12). In the book with which Brooks will always be associated, he allows us to taste the surprisingly pleasant combination of bourgeois and bohemian cultures.

Being a pastor, I was especially interested in reading Brooks' observations on the spiritual life of the bourgeois bohemians. Bobos, according to Brooks, crave "freedom and flexibility on the one hand and the longing for rigor and orthodoxy on the other" (pg 224). Spirituality, like other areas of Bobo life, seems to display itself in utter contradiction. Frankly, the observation rings true. I see the same conflict in the lives of my parishioners. However, the observation rings too true. I wonder if these conflicts are inherent in human nature rather than particularly Bobo nature. Perhaps, Brooks would see the rich young ruler who desired eternal life, yet could not give up his wealth as the first Bobo (Luke 18). Nonetheless, this observation does not distract from the book since Brooks' intention is to make an impression not a necessarily win an argument.

The book has one major drawback. Brooks is a master as an author of articles. The book, however, has the feel of several articles strung together. After reading his acknowledgments, I realize that is exactly how the book developed. As a result, the flow is different from chapter to chapter. The reader sometimes has difficulty making the change. If you can suffer the disjointed feel, then you will enjoy a clever perspective of early twenty-first century life. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

May 26, 2016 Cole Nielson added it

Bobos in Paradise is a ethnography, a study of a small population of the United States. Here, Brooks focuses on our elites, our ruling class: the Bobos. They are the top 10% of our country. They run this country, they are our intellectual class. This is a study of them and how they got there.

He relates to Marx's Communist Manifesto, and says that America initially had two classes: The Bourgeois and the Bohemians, the 50's and the 60's, the soldiers and the hippies, the Republicans and the Democ Bobos in Paradise is a ethnography, a study of a small population of the United States. Here, Brooks focuses on our elites, our ruling class: the Bobos. They are the top 10% of our country. They run this country, they are our intellectual class. This is a study of them and how they got there.

He relates to Marx's Communist Manifesto, and says that America initially had two classes: The Bourgeois and the Bohemians, the 50's and the 60's, the soldiers and the hippies, the Republicans and the Democrats (although they are also Bobos; they're just Bobos with a little more emphasis on the right or left side). The Bobos are all of us really. We may not be the top 10%, but they are who we look up to, they are the ones that inspire us. The Bobos are a blend of hippie counterculture and the 80's yuppies. Work hard, play hard, but also make play work. They believe in hard work and getting merit for it. They are the ones that started handing out the "Good Job This Season!" soccer trophies.

Brooks says in his novel that the Bobos are the marriage of two vastly different sides. And that's true. His whole novel gives an in depth look at the self and why we are the way we are in this day and age. We look back on the 50's and see that they were so extremely right, and then we look at the 60's and see that they were so extremely left. And Bobos are the culmination of this. Would you not say that on a scale ranging from the ideals of the 50's to the ideals of the 60's, you'd likely be very near the middle? We are the middle. We believe in the ideals of the 50's that we should all be good people, and at the same time we believe in the "free to be you and me" of the 60's. We are the middle, and here Brooks shows us why.

So that's the whole of it. In this days and age, we are "free to be you and me," but at the same time we believe in respect for others and working hard and making everything around us a goal. We believe in bettering ourselves, and if you choose to read this book, you'll know why. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2008 Blyden rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The central thesis is that a new "class" exist in the US that is a synthesis of the old BOurgeois (establishment) and BOhemian (anti-establishment) "classes" (Bo+Bo=Bobo) and that this new, relatively small class is THE class that sets the societal rules & values defining contemporary US culture. Their ascent is attributed to the importance of highly educated persons in the modern economy. Brooks looks at the patterns of consumption (e.g. "the creation of Latte Towns"), the business culture ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2010 Jackie rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, social-class

I can't help it; I love myself some David Brooks, and this book is no exception. Bobos in Paradise was written a decade ago, so some of the trends Brooks notes here have long since ceased being trends and are firmly established in the mainstream, but no matter -- it's still a fun, breezy read.

I haven't read this in a few years, but I still remember the opening descriptions of the New York Times wedding announcements -- pages that profile the glittery overachievers who attended the right schools ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2013 Alex Zakharov rated it really liked it

A perfect read for a cross-country flight, "Bobos in Paradise" is a very Tom Wolfian analysis of today's elite and its incessant struggle to reconcile ambitions of the bourgeoisie and artistic tendencies of the bohemia. Brooks shows how starting in the late 50s the US transition from aristocracy to meritocracy brought about a new 'class' - Bobos who seem to be living in a state of constant cognitive dissonance nicely manifested in their consumption patterns, intellectual life, politics, business ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 30, 2010 Kate marked it as to-read

I haven't even bought this book yet, and I already have 2 issues with it:
1. Though the subtitle says "Upper Class" the people he's describing are clearly Upper-Middle Class. From the Amazon review: "...driving their immaculate SUVs to Pottery Barn to shop for $48 titanium spatulas." Upper class people have drivers, don't shop at Pottery Barn, and let their domestic staff buy the spatulas.
2. From the back cover (as seen on Amazon): "... David Brooks coins a new word, Bobo, to describe today's up ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 21, 2011 Patrick rated it liked it

Shelves: social-commentary

Brooks can be funny and he does know how to turn a phrase, but ultimately he's writing about something that had a shelf life of no longer than eight years; I don't think his generalizations about Volvo-driving latte-sippers hold up very well. Of course, it's tough to write about the class of which you're part (and Tom Wolfe, Brooks isn't).

The other handicap that this amusing book suffers from is that its dominant note is one of millennial complacency. Events since 2000 have torpedoed that minds ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2017 Ben O rated it really liked it

I've been aware of this book for sometime but just encountered it at a local bookstore. I didn't intend to start reading but the introduction grabbed me and I ended up reading in 3.5 days... This book is probably a classic at this point (published in 2000), on par with "Bowling Alone" or "The World is Flat". Others have written on the new upper class: "the bobos" "the meritocracy" "the creative class" etc perhaps in deeper, more quantitative ways but Brooks humor and wit makes this a quick and e ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 30, 2013 Joel rated it it was ok

Brooks seems to be writing an autobiographical account of himself and his peers. His book gives us a glimpse into the latitudinarian attitudes of the middle and upper classes in America, along with their somewhat ridiculous commitment to being "authentic." The book is a bit dated now as it was written before 9/11, the cancerous growth of the Security State and the mortgage-driven economic collapse of 2008. Nevertheless, the social mores he describes mostly hold steady today: fear of commitment, ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2007 Taylor Franks rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Bobo's

The thesis of this book is that the clashing cultures of the 1960's Bourgoise and the Bohemian and have melded into the BOBO. CEO's now quote Jack Kerouac and listen to Grateful Dead. The chapter that everyone I know should read is about Sprituality. The author who is Jewish lays down with precise detail what is going on in most of the middle/upper class America. Life is a journey and no one really has a claim on truth and rather than being satisfied it leaves the person longing for something of ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 24, 2014 Imam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

great book, meskipun buku ini kurang lebih menceritakan tentang keadaan di Amerika di sekitar awal tahun 2000-an, namun saya melihat bahwa fenomena Bobo (Borjuis Bohemian), masih sangat relevan dengan keadaan Indonesia saat ini atau lebih spesifik Jakarta, Bandung dan Yogyakarta.
yang membuat saya lebih jatuh cinta lagi terhadap buku ini adalah gaya bahasa sarkasme penulis (David Brooks) yang menghiasai hampir seluruh buku ini. sangat recomended, terutama yang tertarik pada Pop Culture, tren ter ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2016 Jeff Yoak rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-collection, read-in-2016

This book addresses changes in cultural norms and business structures that I think about a lot and have always attributed to the coming of the Internet era. It makes a very compelling case that these changes can be understood as partially emerging from a re-establishing of norms following the cultural disruptions of the 60's and 70's and finding a new balance. It's one of the more interesting books that I've read in a while.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Nonfiction

194 users

Sociology

78 users

Politics

31 users

Cultural

21 users

History

20 users

Economics

16 users

Social Science

15 users

See top shelves…

About David Brooks

David Brooks is a political and cultural commentator. He is currently a columnist for The New York Times and a commentator on PBS NewsHour. He has previously worked for Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly and National Public Radio.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

More about David Brooks...

Books by David Brooks

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement

On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense

The Paradise Suite: Bobos in Paradise and On Paradise Drive

Backward and Upward: The New Conservative Writing

More…

Share This Book

+ Share on your website

Trivia About Bobos in Paradise

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Bobos in Paradise...

“Self-actualization is what educated existence is all about. For members of the educated class, life is one long graduate school. When they die, God meets them at the gates of heaven, totes up how many fields of self-expression they have mastered, and then hands them a divine diploma and lets them in.” — 21 likes

“To get the most attention, the essay should be wrong. Logical essays are read and understood. But an illogical or wrong essay will prompt dozens of other writers to rise and respond, thus giving the author mounds of publicity.” — 4 likes

More quotes…

title link	preview: Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There
avg rating	preview: Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There Goodreads rating: 3.58 (3365 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106330.Bobos_in_Paradise?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442024743l/106330.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106330.Bobos_in_Paradise?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There by David Brooks[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — Bobos in Paradise by David Brooks

Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

About David Brooks

Books by David Brooks

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Bobos in Paradise

Quotes from Bobos in Paradise...