Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time or money on this book.
Review: When I first read the title of the book, I thought pretentious all the way. However when I heard the author speak in person, I said maybe there is something I can learn from this book. I should have stuck with my first instinct. I found the constant name dropping and designer brand name references to be more than I could tolerate. Having grown up with and around many of the organizations the author refers to, I wonder if maybe I was living in some identical universe, because his experiences and mine were so far from the same. Save your money, please don't buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Having their cake and eating it too
Review: The book is an interesting read, although the constant name-dropping is extremely tiring. I find it fascinating that the black elite want to have their cake and eat it too--they aspire to be white&elite yet ostracize other elite blacks who live in predominantly white neighborhoods or attend ivy schools. They look down upon wealthy blacks who do not belong to all the "right clubs" but do not seem to realize that belonging to the "right club" does not make them any more in touch with the common american black experience.
Rating:
Summary: Historically Relevant, Interesting....
Review: Wow, The only thing more interesting than this book were the reviews. People should not get upset with Lawrence Graham, he is only presenting his version of the truth and while many parts of the book are kind of harsh to take, I believe there is some truth there. For all of those people who believe that we have abandoned our "slave mentality", I have some news, it is still there. For all of my 27 years, my skin color (very light) and hair length (very long) has caused me all types of grief. From elementary school where I was told that I was just a dirty white child who needed a good bath, to men I have dated in my 20's who don't want me to cut my hair or get a tan. It is still there. Why are we getting upset at blacks who have arrived at the upper echelons of our society and who want to maintain a certain lifestyle? As a very smart, gifted child, I faced extreme torment and isolation in my working class neighborhood. I would have loved to be a part of Jack and Jill where my brains and ambition would have been celebrated. Now as I prepare for a career in the profession of my choice (law), I must say that I agree with the sentiment that no one who is educated really wants to hang out with some drop out from the projects and I am highly qualified and right to make this statement. After graduating from college, I decided to join an inner city church (Pentecostal) church where I felt my talent could be of use, and what I received in return was sheer resentment and backstabbing and torment. And for those of you who don't realize it, EVERYBODY has a caste system, even these church folk who represented some of the poorest among us. That experience showed me that it is nearly impossible and very trying to "get in the trenches" and help those less fortunate among us. Let me send my check in like everybody else from Chappaqua. And while we are on this topic, how come no one seems to be upset at Ms. Betty Shabazz, for all of her posturing and being lauded as this revolutionary, she was down with all of these snobs and so were her kids and she was not trying to help any of those working class folk over at Medgar Evers Community College become a part of her elite circle. The Shabazz message is clear, "everyone for themselves". I agree that this book was boring and repetetive in certain parts, but in was informative and historically relevant. I am proud to know of the accomplishments and achievements of those who have gone before us and it has inspired me to go further with my life. Moreover, I add to the young woman from Dominica, there are no worse black snobs on this planet than West Indian/Caribbean snobs. I should know as my mother hails from the Caribbean. They are the worst. They are fixated on skin color, hair length and of course, education and other credentials. In fact, they are probably the only group of blacks who can match the "black elite" and with good reason. Growing up in the Caribbean, you see people who look just like you accomplishing a great deal and they were doing long before Madame CJ Walker and the Links and the Deltas came on the scene! This book is a great resource and it should be treated as such. The author is not condoning these attitudes (in my opinion), merely presenting them and it should be treated as a presentation.
Rating: 
Summary: REVIEWS FASCINATING--BOOK NOT!
Review: Books on "class"are best handled by a) real insiders like Louis J. Auchincloss, Edith Wharton or Henry James; b)light-hearted, perceptive types with tongue firmly in cheek such as 1) Stephen Birmingham and Cleveland Amory; and c) sociologists (sorry, I don't know any names.) Mr. Graham is none of the above. Worst of all, he's not even a good gossip! He leads us to think we are going to get the *real* lowdown on Mr. Logan and Mr. Hunt of Memphis. OK, I'm game. I've never heard of either gentlemen, but am always up for a good story. Sorry, that's it; no conclusion, expose, nothing--why bring it up in the first place? There's so much wrong with this book and Mr. Graham that's been taken up by your other reviewers, I won't beat that horse anymore. But was anyone else *embarrassed* by Mr. Graham's undisguised longing and fawning? I'd catch myself thinking almost protectively "now DON'T tell me what kind of car. I already KNOW he's the 'former president of American Express.' Don't repeat the credentials(clubs, sororities, fraternities, etc.) Don't embarrass your mama further by any more references to her worshipful social climbing." Our Kind of People need a basic course in genetics. If perfection is light skin, straight hair, light eyes and narrow noses; get out there and marry white people! preferably Scandanavians! Last thought, perhaps Mr. Graham was the right man for the job. Maybe it takes a fool to adequately encompass the fools he wants to become.
Rating:
Summary: A Humorous Tome
Review: This book was hilarious! It reads like something written 100 years ago. As a Berkeley,California raised Black woman, I find these views of "class" and skin tone bizarre at best and totally pathetic all around. This reminds me of a story about a club called the Blue Vein Society that members of my family were asked to join in the 50's. The entry requirements? You had to be light enough to see the veins in your arms! I'm not making this up, it was an actual organization! I thought attitudes like the ones expressed in Mr. Graham's book were as extinct as that dumb club. I'm very fair-skinned with green eyes and long hair, and I'm what is fondly known of as a BAP (Black American Princess), because my parents provided a wonderful childhood for me. However, this did not include Jack and Jill, the Links, etc., because we laughed at pretentious people that joined these organizations. I socialized with people of all nationalities and hues (this is Berkeley, after all). At no point in my life have I ever feel better than any other Black person simply because I'm light. Why? Anyone with a modicum of common sense would never judge another simply by looks possessions, or background. That excludes people with Mr. Graham's warped perspective, of course. "Our kind of people," indeed! Not mine - I'm ashamed to know there are still African-Americans with slave mentalities running around spreading their prejudiced views. I'm sure Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, Diana Ross, etc., weep into their pillows every night because they're not accepted by the "Old Guard." Hah!
Rating: 
Summary: Intetesting Book
Review: This book is a must read for all African-Americans interested in a view into the private lives of the "old guard". I reside in Atlanta (in Cascade Heights) and I was familiar with some of the history surrounding the area. It was interesting to discover so much of the citys' "black" history beyond the usual topics (King & Abernathy families). The actions of some the people in the book may seem shocking, unforgiving, and even over-the-top, but you must remember the times and the challenges they must have faced. Although, the organizations that they formed and participated in separated society, they contributed to society in a very important way.
Rating:
Summary: DECEPTIVELY PERCEPTIVE
Review: This book is illuminating both for what it says about the black middle class and for what it does not say (but what we can infer) about the author. He writes as if he has his nose pressed to the window of a candy store he can never fully participate in, yet he attempts the veneer of an insider. He tells the brown paper bag stories that so many black folks cringe at, but he also reveals how much he doesn't know with his errors and with the short shirft he gives to cities like San Francisco, Memphis, Seattle, Boston, and other places. He reveals the petty, class based, color bound practices of some black people, without revealing how some of those practices has changed; yet Graham does not know enough and has not done enough research to write history. This is fascinating and funny both for what it reveals and what it does not. I'd read it, as I do all of Graham's work, as an incomplete analysis, as a very warped view of a world that this man wants desperately to belong to. (Witness the nose job he writes about in another book, the posing as a busboy at a white club in A Member of the Club). There are truths, laughs, and much that is pitiable here. In many ways, this book is a record of the damage that white racism has wrought on black people, and especially on Lawrence Otis Graham.
Rating:
Summary: Not all of us fit the author's "mold"...
Review: I am a black female who grew up exposed to a few of the things that Graham mentions in his book. Yes, my college educated mother was a part of the so-called sororities mentioned in the book. Yes, I, myself, grew up in Jack and Jill (hello fellow J J alumnus! ). But just because I was in Jack and Jill I didn't have my head in the clouds. My former J J associates, their parents, and even my own family might have a quote-unquote "little learnin'," but we're not ALL pedigreed snobs. Some of us tried to remove ourselves as far away from that genre as possible because we've seen what such mentality has done to other blacks in the past. We're just as down-to-earth as we want to be. Yes, we might have, to a certain extent, have been "privelaged" (whatever that means), yes, we might speak proper American English grammar, yes, we might have professional parents who didn't raise us in the projects, but all of "us" IN NO WAY look down on our brothers and sisters who were LESS FORTUNATE! I have friends, and acquaintences all over the place--and I enjoy that privelage. Because when it comes down to it, when you get past superficial things like money, looks, and pedigree (mine of which is quite modest, actually), it's easy to see that we're all the same people. We're black. There's no paper bag test anymore. All forms of black and beauty are prized these days. The "high-class" mentality almost doesn't exist anymore, simply because, as another reviewer stated, certain organizations admit "anyone." For this reason alone, we need to jump over trivial hurdles and try to get along with each other without throwing the status/class/color stuff in each other's faces.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but mixed with factual errors.
Review: I thought this was an interesting read, since it chronicled a part of our history that has not been written about much. However, as a resident of Atlanta and having gone to school or grown up with some of the offspring and family members of persons mentioned in the book, Mr. Graham overstated their interest in making sure newer residents to these cities learn the old history. Some of the people he mentioned in the book are very humble individuals who would never name drop the way he has. As a member of some of the organizations mentioned, I can say that the commitment to public service is far more important than the "elite" status of current/prospective members. Mr. Graham also made errors I couldn't help but notice. Dr. Camille Cosby is not a Spelman alumna--though she and her husband have been financial supporters of the college. He also mentioned that Vashti Turley Murphy, a founder of Delta Sigma Theta sorority was the daughter of John Murphy, publisher of the Afro-American newspaper in Baltimore. Mrs. Murphy was married to Carl Murphy, son of the publisher. I hope Mr. Graham will continue to focus on a variety of topics in future writings. However, he should make sure his research include accurate dates and information.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting/Appalling
Review: As a professor at a historically black institution, I work very hard to make sure that my students not of the same pedigree as those in Mr. Graham's book don't leave with an inferiority complex by coming in contact with misinformed elitist blacks who judge others by skin color, cars, houses, and superficial organizations. I instill in my students the right ingredients to be successful. Name dropping may get you the job, but performance is what will keep the job. Statusite snobs need to realize that truly wealthy whites laugh at them and their silly actions and laugh all the way to the bank as the black elite with the attitudes as expressed in Mr. Graham's book help make their stock portfolios and dividends oh so healthy. I was taught not to judge people on the basis of skin color and other intrinsic measures. It is substance of the person's character. I have encountered this grandiose type of mentality and finds it quite amusing. I have met and known millionaires that are not African American and their families have had money since the colonial days and they don't have these sentiments. I choose not socialize with people with these views or attitudes irrespective of race. It is a shame that a person tries to deny and then work hard to hate his or her heritage. As an excellently educated brown skinned Black who has always been at the top academically, I find a book like this interesting but yet appalling. Blacks do not want to admit to Black racism and elitism, but yet will vehemently attack others who do the same. I don't associate with people of this type of mentality due to the fact that they find pleasure in feeling superior and have the proweness to take advantage of the darker less intellectual Blacks as from their perceptions. That is what they feel. What is so funny, is that the impending economic collapse that is coming will change their entire attitudes about themselves and their darker brothers and sisters. The author is on the mark, for I have experience "Colored" folks just like this through grade school and graduate studies, and I find it amusing. My grandmothers on my Mother's and Father's side were light complexed and of Native American and minute portion of "the blessed white blood" the elites in this book rave in having, but they never made differences in people based on skin color. The only organization they wanted to belong to was the flock of Christ. Interesting book, but yet appalling. Yes Racism, elitism, and classism does exist in the Black Race. I am just glad that I don't participate in it and teach my students not to participate in it or feel any less due to not having the same pedigrees. Bill Cosby is a classic example. A person who is truly content and in touch with him or herself doesn't need to become a snob irrespective or education, income, or social organization affiliation
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