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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Home » Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever | | | | | | | Description: | | Percentile is destiny in America.”
So says Walter Kirn, a peerless observer and interpreter of American life, in this whip-smart memoir of his own long strange trip through American education. Working his way up the ladder of standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and class rankings, Kirn launched himself eastward from his rural Minnesota hometown to the ivy-covered campus of Princeton University. There he found himself not in a temple of higher learning so much as an arena for gamesmanship, snobbery, social climbing, ass-kissing, and recreational drug use, where the point of literature classes was to mirror the instructor's critical theories and actual reading of the books under consideration was optional. Just on the other side of the “bell curve's leading edge” loomed a complete psychic collapse.
LOST IN THE MERITOCRACY reckons up the costs of a system where the point is simply to keep accumulating points and never to look back—or within. It's a remarkable book that suggests the first step toward intellectual fulfillment is getting off the treadmill that is the American meritocracy. Every American who has spent years of his or her life there will experience many shocks of recognition while reading Walter Kirn’s sharp, rueful, and often funny book—and likely a sense of liberation at its end. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780385521284
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Walter Kirn | | Hardcover:
| 224 pages | | Publisher:
| Doubleday | | Publication Date:
| May 19, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0385521286 | | Package Length:
| 8.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.7 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 29 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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a bizarre life, revisitedJan 12, 2010
Like other readers, I was intrigued by the title of this book. However, neither the title nor the subtitle communicates what this book is about: a very successful novelist reminisces about educational experiences that took place more than 25 years ago.
As others have noted, it's not clear why Kirn wrote this book. It's almost a case study of a specific educational trajectory. A smart young man learns how to play the education game early on, then finds himself in way over his head at an Ivy League university. Much of these experiences seem to take place in a drug induced haze, punctuated by sexual encounters that range from frustrating to bizarre.
We can evaluate the book as a memoir. Kirn's story is not especially unique. If he hadn't written a handful of best sellers, I wonder if he would have found an audience. Worse, there's no context to read the book and no theme. It's hard to argue that the system is broken when you're sabotaging your own success with drugs and other escapist behavior. It's even hard to argue about the system, which must have changed in twenty-five years.
I kept wondering why Kirn didn't have a confidante during his Princeton years. Did he even consider the school's counseling service? An adult with any kind of business sense would have seen through his roommates' ploy, as they purchased furniture without consulting him and then sent him a bill. I'm not a lawyer but I suspect they had no basis to ask him for money; their action was more like extortion. Princeton's response to Kirn's acting out may seem benevolent but I wonder why nobody talked to him about what happened.
The roommates sound depressingly real. Crazy roommates are a fact of college life, especially in some of the more elite universities. A badly assigned roommate can impact a student's success and happiness.
Looking at the book as a case study of a smart but misguided young person, I would say Kirn's experience reinforces a belief I've held for a long time. Success depends on a combination of recognizing what environment will support you, even if it's not the most famous or elite. Over and over I've seen people turn down top schools and famous companies to get to places where their own unique styles and talents can flourish.
A little luck doesn't hurt either. It seems odd that Kirn never encounters a helpful, supportive person or catches a break. If he'd chosen a different major or been assigned a different place to live, I wonder what might have happened. Of course, it's possible that opportunities did present themselves while he was too inwardly focused to notice.
Incidentally, I was amused by Kirn's dialogue with his psychiatrist on pages 15-16. Kirn, now in his thirties, gets ready to quit therapy. In what seems to be a desperate act to hold on to his patient, the psychiatrist asks him to consider just one more thing.
First, the shrink suggests, Kirn might have idolized his father but was abandoned. No thanks, Kirn says, looking at his watch.
But surely, the therapist suggests, "you idolized someone once...but then he abandoned you or you felt he did."
Kirn immediately connects, remembering the man he called "Uncle Admiral."
I can't help wondering what would happen if Kirn said "No." Just about everyone has looked up to someone who either left, was left behind and/or turned out to have feet of clay. Maybe I've been in marketing too long, but I can't help noticing that psychiatrist seems to be a very good salesman. If Kirn stuck around for more therapy, I hope he got his money's worth.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Thanks for sharingJan 08, 2010
If drug abuse and being molested by one's sixth-grade teacher are teachable moments, I don't think I'd like to be taught. Fortunately there is some passable existential musing, if you can manage to take Kirn seriously.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 3.5 stars -- His story, but not necessarily yoursDec 25, 2009
Why write this now? At 50-something? I think that some things simply take a lot of time to sort out: even half a lifetime. For lower and lower middle class kids in America, the idea of a true meritocracy is a dream ("you can be anything you want"). Many kids who do well in high school buy into the dream whole-heartedly. And when they learn that "it ain't necessarily so," the hard insight can be devastating. This is not to say that people can't create their own destinies regardless of where or whether they go to college. But Kirn's story is about HIS experience, his hard-learned lessons and how it shaped him (actually, threw him for a long time). I don't see whining so much as ideals in free-fall and a lot of thrashing about when they (and he) hit bottom.
If someone was born after 1975, it may be hard to understand why Kirn so naively bought the dream. But back then idealism was in the air and many folks breathed it in deeply. I did, too. In 1974, when I interviewed at Princeton (a great school), I was shocked to have my personal "student interviewer and guide" dressed in Brooks Bros type clothing (I wore dark jeans and an open collared white shirt, no jacket). I was more shocked when the FIRST question he asked was: "what does your father do?" His was impressively "titled" in a prestigious NY bank. Mine had a nice title, too, but in the public sector and not much money to go with it. As soon as he realized that, the student guide looked over my head for the remainder of the tour/interview. I felt blessed to find out that, although Princeton is a fantastic school, it wasn't right for me. (The school I ultimately chose was filled with kids slightly embarrassed about their parents' celebrity status, which was equally funny, but more bearable.)
And so, I was spared at least part of Kirn's experience. I was also a bit more savvy than Kirn. When rich kids said, "let's stay in the protest and get arrested," I knew their parents would spring them without batting an eyelash and mine could not -- I might even put my scholarship in jeopardy. So, while they were willing to accept me and use the word "we" freely (different coast, different mindset), I needed to see through that and understand that "we" was conditional and temporary. I don't blame them for that, but I can see how rotten it might have been if I didn't keep a sober view of things. I also quickly found a circle of my own where I didn't have to be so guarded. Perhaps if I were more clever I could have figured out some way around the obstacles I perceived, but I didn't. And on the bright side, it made me more of an independent. I sought out opportunities based upon true interests vs what friends were doing (and still do).
Read the book to learn about a slice of life from a slice of time. Don't generalize too much, but distill what you can. Certain realities are likely to be timeless; be aware of them, but also push the envelope some. You never know what could happen.
decently written but masturbatoryDec 25, 2009
I was definitely waiting for more of a "point" to this book. It was more like a polished journal entry than coherent social commentary. I suppose a good question it raises is how could colleges improve their admissions procedure to screen for people who are actually intent on using their resources to serve others, which the SAT clearly does not accomplish.
In its defense, it was an entertaining, quick read.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Students, please read!Dec 20, 2009
I read this book for an Advanced Placement English class in 11th grade. All participants in the "Meritocracy" of the American educational system will find this book to be deeply satisfying. It entertains with its face-value anecdotes and provokes thought in its discussion of a system that governs the lives of millions of students but is never discussed. I can't say how an adult would feel about this book, but everyone in my class who read it really enjoyed it. I can't recommend this highly enough to any achieving student.
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