American Elites

by Althea K. Nagai, Robert Lerner, Stanley Rothman

Based on interviews with more than 1800 members of ten strategic leadership groups, including federal judges, business executives, religious leaders, lawyers, high-level bureaucrats, and journalists,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300065345
• ISBN13: 9780300065343
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A tour de force of statistical analysis

This is an extremely important book. The issue of the American Elite--the way they vote, the way the shop, what they think--is one that will not go away any time soon. The issues raised here violate the standard neo-Marxian parable about a united and naturally politicized elites that act, within their own self interest, to violate the rights of the proletariat; the wealthy and the elite in fact have no such comprehensive interests, and vote like much of the country, based on the way their parents voted. Other revelations come, naturally, but one must purchase the book to fully gather the analytic power of the book. It is a wonderful, interesting book, that does very interesting things with somewhat aged numbers. Definitely worth a purchase if you have any interest in the American Elite.

Good analysis

This book is an excellent brief analysis of elites in America. While the data is admittedly slightly dated, it is theoretically broad and well analyzed. The results are discussed with amazing theoretical clarity. While this book will please few ideologues, it will please most serious sociology and political science students.