Looking for Class: Days and Nights at Oxford and Cambridge [Paperback]

Bruce Feiler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2003

An irresistible, entertaining peek into the privileged realm of Wordsworth and Wodehouse, Chelsea Clinton and Hugh Grant, Looking for Class offers a hilarious account of one man's year at Oxford and Cambridge -- the garden parties and formal balls, the high-minded debates and drinking Olympics. From rowing in an exclusive regatta to learning lessons in love from a Rhodes Scholar, Bruce Feiler's enlightening, eye-popping adventure will forever change your view of the British upper class, a world romanticized but rarely seen.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“How completely recognizable the world he describes is, and how vividly he makes it spring to life before us.” (Los Angeles Times )

About the Author

Bruce Feiler is the author of five consecutive New York Times bestsellers, including Walking the Bible, Abraham, and America's Prophet. He writes the "This Life" column for the New York Times and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and twin daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006052703X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060527037
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #966,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for class, finding an education, December 15, 2004

By 

Christopher R. Farlow "Volant Solo" (Bishopville, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for Class: Days and Nights at Oxford and Cambridge (Paperback)

This is an imminently readable, well-written and informative book. Bruce Feiler did a wonderful job of describing his experience at Cambridge in 1990-1991, sometimes in incredibly lucid detail. You won't learn much about what he actually learned pursuing his master's of philosophy in international relations, but you will learn volumes about British upperclass society (through the eyes of an American), their social interactions, and most importantly, about how higher education shapes people's lives indirectly. An excellent book.

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exposing "The Game" in grand style, January 5, 2004

By 

M. Cureton (Woodstock, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for Class: Days and Nights at Oxford and Cambridge (Paperback)

This gem of book begins, in Feiler's self deprecating style as he finds himself somewhat increduously accepted for his Master's at Cambridge (certainly not because he doubts his own abilities but more because of the imposing wall between Oxbridge and the rest of us). Feiler journals his year with a selective and at times detached air. Snapshots and glimpses of Cambridge float by as he makes his way towards his degree. Yet, this is no mismatched mosaic, but rather an expressionistic view of a year well spent in "the game." Academia is, of course, a construct built much for its own purposes and the two institutions of Cambridge and Oxford represent the grandest of these constructs. Feiler seems to know this starting out, and nevertheless, he dives into life at Cambridge with all the eagerness of a ten year old embarking on a day at the Magic Kingdom. Throughout his year of study he is frequently caught up in the juxtoposition of very high ideals and very low life; very fine minds with very little common sense. All is not what the romantics might imagine along the banks of the Cam. But Feiler is no anti-intellectual detractor aiming for a cheap expose. So, while the layers are peeled back in what is at times a very private journal, revealing both the ironic and the farcical, he never loses respect for, and never insults the tradition that is Cambridge. In the end, it is a very humane and forgiving look at what is at once both a place of lofty thoughts and grimy academia. It is in essence a lovingly realistic journal of one man's ride through what remains for most us, intellectual Oz.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feiler: A Safe Bet, July 13, 2006

By 

Linda E. Van Horssen - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for Class: Days and Nights at Oxford and Cambridge (Paperback)

Bruce Feiler has proven that he is a fine writer. This is my second selection of his bibliography. Not only does he introduce the reader to an interesting destination, he competently contrasts the place and its people to his own culture. The resulting information has more depth and clarity than a mere travel piece. "Looking For Class" reads like a novel, with interesting characters and situations, while illuminating the educational systems of two of the world's most prestigious institutions. For anyone considering college in the near future, any reader who has interest in understanding culture and higher education across the pond, or just an armchair traveller this is a great read.