Snobbery: The American Version

by Joseph Epstein

Joseph Epstein's highly entertaining new book takes up the subject of snobbery in America after the fall of the prominence of the old Wasp culture of prep schools, Ivy League colleges, cotillions, debutante balls, the Social Register, and the rest of it. With ample humor and insight, Epstein uncovers the new outlets upon which the old snobbery has fastened: food and wine, fashion, high-achieving children, schools, politics, health, being with-it, name-dropping, and much else, including the roles of Jews and homosexuals in the development of snobbery. He also raises the question of whether snobbery might, alas, be a part of human nature. Snobbery: The American Versionis the first book in English devoted exclusively to the subject since Thackeray's THE BOOK OF SNOBS.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Essays, Cultural, Humor, Cultural Studies, Social

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Joseph Epstein is the author of, among other books, Snobbery, Friendship, and Fabulous Small Jews. He has been editor of American Scholar and has written for the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Commentary, Town and Country, and other magazines.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the child of two parents who migrated hugely up the American class ladder very quickly, I grew up interacting frequently with overt snobbery towards both me and members of my family. This also means I didn’t have much of a road map to how to navigate a lot of it, just a frequent sense something was wrong with what I did a lot of the time and I couldn’t figure out what or why. While some of that awkwardness was just about me being a bookish, overly enthusiastic/passionately-nerdy-about-stuff kid, a lot of it was just the piles of invisible ways-we-do-things I didn’t get. I couldn’t articulate much of this until I got older. At the time no one explained to me what the deal was- my parents couldn’t or wouldn’t, depending on the situation, and I guess no one else thought it was their place. So I had to do that work on my own- came to a lot of erroneous conclusions, as you do when everything is unsaid and you’re six, ten, sixteen years old. So I generally find books about status and class that do this work openly and consciously rather than letting it be subterranean and unclear just incredibly satisfying. So this was guaranteed to absorb me for awhile anyway. Basically my 5-minute-break book for the back half of August. Its biggest problem is that it’s dated enough to not include the rise of the tech millionaire and their families and that type of snobbery nor the selfie/social media stuff that came after. I also felt like the author himself was probably just a touch too dishonest with himself about his own snobbery- but when he *was* vulnerable or struggled to contain his own snobbery it was very relatable. Like his outsize pride in his Burberry coat and how many times he mentioned he went to the University of Chicago, and that his kid went to Stanford, and knew he was doing it, and couldn’t quite stop himself from feeling the need to anyway in the chapters on intelligence. I liked the chapter on the maddening idea of “good taste” and how elusive that is, the nonsensical affectations and passions of American Anglophiles and Francophiles, and of course, the subterranean knapsack of class based “ways of doing” that old guard WASP families can still make you feel bad about not knowing about even though they won’t say it because it’s not cool to say. It’s worth a chapter by chapter a little at a time read- or pick out the snobberies you encounter the most- chances are many of my fellow Americans will recognize at least one kind of snobbery.

[Mary Fons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Epstein!

This was a fantastic book. I'm a snob. If you've got a GoodReads profile, there's a real good chance you're a snob, too. We're all snobs about something: food, culture, music, fashion, lifestyle, etc. "Snobbery" breaks down the why and how behind American snobbery and provides a funny, intelligent read.

What amazed me most was the history of snobbery that Epstein lays out. It had never occurred to me that the U.S. used to have a high Society (with a capital "S") and that times were actually much simpler then. People knew where they stood, socially/culturally speaking. Sure, some people transcended their caste, but most didn't and it was sort of okay. There were fewer snobs in the world because there were fewer people with money and those people cared a hell of a lot about bloodlines. Everyone else just sort of went along, businesses as usual.

When the 1960s happened, the next generation of Society bailed on their parents and got all anti-establishment. This dealt a major blow to Society. The upper-middle class grew in the 1980s. High Society pretty much disintegrated and that *created* a bazillion snobs.

This is because with no clear "you're in and I'm out" system, everyone's trying to create one, individual by individual. It goes something like: "I'm better than Susan, but Susan's better than Jill. No one's as great as Janet, but Shirley comes close. We're all better than the people in the next neighborhood over, but wouldn't it be great to be invited to the parties thrown by that couple downtown?"

Snobs breed snobs breed snobs because we're all trying to find a foothold, trying to find our identity and self-worth. Amazing!

I encourage anyone with an interest in social sciences to read this book. If you're concerned with your snobbery, that's a good reason to read it, too, though I'm afraid there isn't much you can do to change it...

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every decade or two someone takes on the class system of the putatively classless American society, which is generally entertaining reading and good for building up a minor bibliography of (mostly pop) sociology. The formative text for me of this sort is Paul Fussell's "Class: A Guide Through the American Status System" from 1983, which led me to Thorstein Veblen and Vance Packard and the like.

Epstein footnotes both the last two, but dismisses Fussell as an Anglophile snob in one paragraph that doesn't even allude to his rather similar book, leading one to wonder (as both were life-long academics in the literary world), if Fussell patronized or snubbed the decade-younger Epstein at some conference. While Fussell dates himself a bit with generic caricatures of the hierarchy of Army wives in a way that is almost reminiscent of Reader's Digest, Epstein names names and does so gleefully: though Gore Vidal (still alive when this came out) could certainly hold his own, Phyllis Rose might have wondered why she was singled out for a special jab (or perhaps she knows full well).

On the one hand I appreciate Epstein's stance that no one who writes on status and social class can very honestly claim to be entirely above or outside it, in the course of admitting his own prejudices his enthusiasm for expensive cars and name-dropping gets a bit tedious. There is also the fuddy-duddy factor - claiming to be thoroughly familiar with Madonna's image without having troubled to hear note of her music, or his apparent belief that American cuisine peaked with shrimp cocktail, steak and iceberg lettuce.

Finally it becomes clear after a bit (I didn't do much background before starting the book, a stoop find) that he is a conservative of the sort that refers to "Victims' Studies" college majors, so my enthusiasm waned sharply as we went along.

[Jafar · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting cultural and sociological bits and pieces about different kinds of snobbery in America, but in the end I’m not sure what Epstein was trying to say. The book itself smells of snobbery with all that name-dropping. Major turn-off when an author writes too much about himself in a book that is not meant to be an autobiography.

[boat_tiger · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I gave it a shot. I gave it three shots in fact. I tried. The author just repeats himself so much, it is like listening to a broken record. Plus I can't really identify with the subject matter.

[Aubrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very cute read, Epstein talks about the curiosity he finds in that though democracy, by its very nature touts itself as anti-snobbery, seems at the same time, by its very nature, to breed it.

By taking away the social solidarity of class, getting rid of any true aristocracy, and even by eliminating the society columns, Americans are left with the need to find some way of distinguishing themselves from their fellow countrymen.

We do this by becoming snobs: Job-snobbery, school snobbery, intellectual snobbery, political, celebrity, food & wine, overall "good taste".... and the list goes on.

A very fun book, though I think it would do better as a collection of essays instead.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this! Joseph Epstein is incredibly intelligent and funny, and I really learned a lot reading this book, especially about 18th-20th century writers. Intellectual is one of the forms of snobbery that Epstein frequently discusses, seeing how as an educated person he has the most personal experience with that form; plus, as correctly he states, "novelists are our keenest sociologists" (65). I really appreciate that this book doesn't have a mushy, "let's all love ourselves and each other" message. He makes the point at the beginning and the end of the book that being good-hearted and genuine is what matters, but other than that the book contains his observations and research in regard to snobbery, and an entertaining analysis of the psychology behind snobbery and how snobber functions in American society today. Epstein is honest and thought-provoking.

Yet with all of its wonderful qualities I had to push myself to get through the book. It just seems so long, and some chapters seem unnecessary, namely 'The Art of With-It-ry', which I skipped. Part One is great; it sets about defining snobbery (and close relatives like taste), and the basic motives and thought process of snobs. Part Two applies those basic principles to today's (as of 2002) American life and society. Most of it is great as well, but after a while it feels like Epstein keeps banging us over the head with the same main points, Just in the different settings of food, celebrity, child-rearing and Anglo/Franco-philia. It was just like, "OKAY, I get it! Snobs are insecure and want to feel that they're above everyone else. Now let's move on." Fortunately I wasn't made to feel that way often, but it made the reading process a bit daunting in the second half, which is why I've only given 3 stars. Though Snobbery: The American Version wasn't as fun to read as I had hoped, it was still a great read and made me laugh and think. So I'm not disappointed at all.

[Tom Stamper · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Joseph Epstein does so well as an essayist is reveal his own weaknesses and his efforts to overcome himself. The book begins with the many ways that Epstein sees himself fall into snobbery and evolves into a book about historical and contemporary snobbery. Epstein has a certain way of seeing his own faults and an ability to diagnose the faults of others in ways that are new and insightful. He nails the essence of Gore Vidal as a man reminding you of his own patrician background while suggesting that this American culture thing is not worth saving. Two kinds of snobs in one.

There is a section here on name dropping and creative and obvious ways he’s seen it done along with a bunch of name-dropping of his own. He laments that the snobbery of high culture has been replaced with snobbery of pop culture. Composure and authors and scientists have given way to models and singers and actors.

We have fashion snobs and food snobs and wine snobs. Vegetarianism is an example of what Epstein calls the virtuecrat, a person snobbish for merely holding all the proper opinions. These people exist on all parts of the political spectrum to remind you of your shortcomings

Epstein leads us to the realization that snobbery is a human condition and impossible to avoid in ourselves or others so we might as well enjoy the humor of it.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, erudite, effortlessly constructed and studded with 5-dollar words I don't know but would like to learn. Epstein is the new half-brother to my favorite family of writers, sitting at Thankgiving between Anne Fadiman and Joan Didion, across the table from Bill Bryson and Phillip Lopate. 

These are my heroes, men and women who take often pedestrian subjects and light them with bottle rockets from the inside. I hope to have a literary legacy like theirs someday. And as I practice, I read books like these to imagine what I could aim for in the meantime.

Will grab another Epstein right soon. I'm thinking In a Cardboard Belt

[Milkman3367 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Spin, stir, crackle, sizzle and buzz,
How quickly the Land of Oz turns to Was."
-Anonymous

I think that this epigram expresses perfectly the fickle nature of fame and celebrity. The author does a fine job of trying to define the nature and boundaries of snobbery, and unintentionally (and as it turns out, humorously) engages in grammatical foreshadowing with a nod to the future role of social media and snobbery in these lines:
"I have not till now called for sympathy for the snob, but life over the past fifty years cannot have been easy for him. His social radar would have been almost constantly atwitter as one hierarchy after another in American life has been broken down and replaced by new ones, ever more blurry and more ephemeral."
The book was written in 2002, so the author could not have known that people would in the future use as a gauge of their celebrity how many followers they have on Twitter, and how much that social media platform would itself serve to tear down previous hierarchies. The irony!

[TK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never quite finished this. It came highly recommended by someone whose opinion I normally trust about books, but I had the strange experience of both feeling superior as I read about American snobs ("thank God I'm not one of them,") but also vagelu inferior ("why aren't I one of them?"). This I suppose is the whole thorn of snobbery; frankly, I don't know why I should spend more time than basolutely necesary with snobs. So thus, I never finished the book.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given my circumstances, reverse snobbery is pretty much the only kind available to me, and I've been living with it, and off of it, for years.

[Edmund Roughpuppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where does he get the time to read all these books?
Joseph Epstein is one of the authors I envy, who are either 175 years old or able to read much faster than I can. This book is a meditation on our ideas of superiority, with lots of delicious quotes from the many books he read on the subject.



Where does snobbery come from, and is it good or evil?
“Life,” wrote William Hazlitt, “is a struggle to be what we are not and to do what we cannot.”

Right there he hits the ball out of the park. That is my life, from beginning to end. I always want to be more and do more than is possible. Why? Joseph never hits on—what I believe to be—the main driver for snobbery, and that is evolution. We are here, in whole and in every part, because our ancestors succeeded in making babies. Every capacity that helped some ancestors make more babies than others proliferated in succeeding generations.

The conviction that we are superior beings tends to attract mates, just as humility tends to repel them. A snob is also more likely to fight off the competition for mates and resources, ensuring the resulting babies survive long enough to pass on the capacity for snobbery. There’s our real answer, which doesn’t seem to have occurred to him. Nevertheless, Joseph’s musings are still worth reading.

Snobbery as self-protection
Georg Simmel, the trenchant German sociologist, has suggested that the individual who takes a stand against fashion, may do so out of personal weakness, fearful that "he will be unable to maintain his individuality if he adopts the forms, the tastes, and the customs of the general public.”

Again, I completely relate. In every period of my life, I took a strong avoidance to the big hits in popular culture. For one thing, I got sick of them sooner than others, and needed to clear my senses. When I was in high school, the BeeGees’ soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever was heard, literally everywhere. I thought my local radio stations were playing it in a continuous loop. Naturally, I rebelled, preferring Reggae, Medieval Plainsong, or ANYTHING ELSE but “Stayin’ Alive.” Did I think I was superior to other kids, leading a purer life? Of course I did.

Now that may sound distasteful, but Joseph and others maintain it’s actually a noble sentiment. If we handle our snobbery with care, it can actually make us better. It can inspire greater contributions to culture. In this he agrees with Jonathan Franzen:

Just as every lover at some level believes that he or she makes love as it’s made nowhere else on the planet, so every artist clings for dear life to the illusion that the art he or she produces is vital, necessary, unique. Aesthetic elitism, sexual snobbery; these are not the reprehensible attitudes that our culture makes them out to be. They’re the efforts of the individual to secure a small space of privacy within the prevailing din. All people should be elitists — and keep it to themselves. [Books In Bed]
— Jonathan Franzen, How To Be Alone: Essays

And what about Joseph himself?
Is he a snob, and if so, does he embrace his own snobbery? I’m delighted to report, the answers are “yes” and “yes!”

For the most part, I kept [my snobbish notions to myself. I believe – at least I hope – I never came across as preposterous as I assuredly was in the indoor drama. I was then living. Still, deep down (deep down, that is, for a shallow young person.) I tended to forgo the more innocent affectations by which people hope to establish superiority – through possessions, through memberships and clubs and groups, through socially favorable marriages – in favor of a heavy freight of artiness and intellectuality.

Oh I could go on. It’s a wonderful book, all the way through. Funny and poignant. It gave me more sympathy for myself and fellow-snobs, which, let’s face it, means just about everyone.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps those most snobbish of all are the purveyors of snobbery in modern society. Joseph Epstein knows this, which is why he continually exploits the contradiction (of his own making) that exists in each chapter: 'I don't care where my son goes to college, but I know the rankings and I'll judge someone with an inferior college's bumper sticker on his/her car' (for example).

Although much of the writing seems frivolous & overwritten (chapter-length 'first world problems'), I did find the midsection of the book to be its most redeeming, relevant, and compelling factor--chapters 5-18ish. Nonetheless, the whole thing is a mixture of research, cultural/historical awareness, and personal essay, that I found somewhat confusing at first--when he would quote authors or historical information, I wanted some form of citation. When he would share anecdotes from his own life, I would want more interrogation and reflection of his own perceptions.

With how semi-confessional & cosmopolitan Epstein is throughout the book, I found it odd, as well, that there was no mention or reflection of 9/11/01. It's as if he finished the book beforehand & didn't want to consider the ramifications of that historical bombshell.

[Jerry Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a class system in society, one of the by products seems to be snobbery.
In such a society we tend to feel comfortable in looking down on some and up at others.
The author here feels such a tactic can be done away with, but only with considerable
effort. Keep in mind the accident of birth
Keep in mind that spreading a little kindness requires little effort and little cost, there is
no penalty for it.
Good car traits: Does it do well what I want it to do and is it worth its price. p. 10
Only stupid people, wrote Horace, assess people by their genealogy. p. 48
"wellborn" p. 83
A man may be despised, says Balzac, but not his money. p. 84
Showy outsides, insides empty. John Banks. p. 103 !!!!!
Nobody is born an intellectual. p. 142 !!!!!
common: you cannot reason people out of something to which reason hasn't brought them. p. 161
Fashion, says Tom Wolfe, is the code language of status. p. 176
There are two truths that most men will never believe, says Giacomo Leopardi, one, that they know nothing, and the other, that they are nothing. *** people couldn't. seem to resist using another person's flaws against them. p. 242 !!!!
One - - sure enough of himself to find it unnecessary to be a snob. p. 248 !!!!!
we are better off: when fairness rules, and generosity, courage and honor are all rightly revered. p. 251 !!!!!!

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though packed with choice quotations from literature and occasional nuggets of wisdom, overall a disappointment. While immensely enjoyable for the first 50 pages, it soon plunges into a mind-numbing middle-aged name-dropping game that, if it weren't for its value as a snapshot of what passed for high-boogie good taste at the turn of the millennium, is better left unread. A better title for the book might have been: "Confessions of a Neurotic Climber: Bobos in Neoliberal Paradise."

It's a pity, because at times he's really onto something interesting here, but preferred instead to use the reader as a listening board/unwitting rabbi/priest/psychoanalyst for his endless whiny-ass 'I promise I'm not a snob—but did you know my son got into Stanford?' confessions. Author winds up being just as petty, depressing, and ultimately irrelevant as everything he abhors. Which might have been the unconscious 'meta-point' of the entire exercise in 'outing' relative snobbisms... in which case: a veritable success.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, even if in places some of the lists felt like I was reading American Psycho, which is suppose is the point. I also found out that I did not know many of the American literary elite which Epstein talks about here, so I have expanded my knowledge a bit. I do agree with him that we are all snobs to some extent, I think mine is mainly based around beer.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool. Funny. Honest. Intelligent.

The honesty of the writer got me. Im sure he’ll say, ( with sarcasm), “what honesty?”. Loved the simple sophistication of writing about so many and being able to relate to all readers - I hope! He is going to cause many (me) to examine their degree of snobbery and the reason we are snobs.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not fascinating, but somewhat interesting. It would be more interesting if I was familiar with the many people he references in the book. I didn't find that I enjoyed it at four stars, but I think that it's written well and that many other readers would appreciate it much more than I did.

[Leonardo]

resulta difícil no reirse de lo pretenciosos que somos nosotros y el mal gusto que tienen los demás.

Desigualdad Pág.189

[Donna Hutt Stapfer Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feeling left out? Here, read this -

You can discover that shade thrown at work, or that insult tossed in Facebook has historical significance. That it has history, depth to it. And also, how to avoid it in yourself. Marvelous reference.

[Lance Cahill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting vignettes on ‘snobbery’ in all its forms. Epstein’s style reminded me of Tom Wolfe and this made for an enjoyable read that made one reflect at certain junctures. Book was a bit scattershot, at times.

[Trulee · Rating 3 out of 5]

He is very clever, and fun to read. I got tired of reading all about his own snobbery. It was funny at first and then it just got old. I enjoyed recognizing some areas that I need to work on, so I am grateful for that.

[Alana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book and also would be nice to read along side some of the authors that he mentioned. I do think that lack of reference to Paul Fussel’s (1992) book “Class: A guide through the American status system” and Fussel’s 6-7 classes system is unfortunate.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining survey of snobbery in all its manifestations. You'll know it's good when it gets you thinking about your own attitudes. We're all in there.

[Aging Bull · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Little original thinking here. Mostly derivations of existing works with the additional snarkiness that comes from the entitled class. Move along. Nothing to see here.

[Laura J. Snaer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I wasted enough time on this drivel to reach the back cover. The author may be an authority on snobbery, an honorary phd, so to speak, but a writer, hes not.

[szymborskalyte · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just sort of pointless.

[Bari Dzomba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book was poorly written and I strongly do not recommend it as it is harmful rather than clever or funny. Did not finish book because it was hard to read such nonsense.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

At points, quite inciteful, at others, more like a term paper. Overall, a pretty decent book with many local references.