The Official Preppy Handbook: The Completely Outstanding Gift Edition [Hardcover]

Jonathan Roberts (Author), Carol McD. Wallace (Author), Mason Wiley (Author), Lisa Birnbach (Editor), Oliver Williams (Illustrator), Robin Holland (Photographer)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (October 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894801953
• ISBN-13: 978-0894801952
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Leaving van Gogh" is Carol Wallace's 21st book and her first historical novel. Previous titles have included humor, parenting, and social history. In 2006 Wallace received a M.A. in art history from Columbia University. The research for her M.A. thesis provided the foundation for Leaving van Gogh. A 1977 graduate of Princeton University, Wallace lives in New York. She blogs at http://carolwallace.wordpress.com
More information is at http://www.carolwallacebooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brooks Brothers, L.L. Bean, Talbots foundations of Prep, February 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Official Preppy Handbook: The Completely Outstanding Gift Edition (Hardcover)

This book is absolutely great! I own a very used copy handed down to me by a friend that said it summed me up in a nutshell. The book begins with the birth of children and the naming process (Buffy, Bif, Pookie, Van, etc.); the selection of a prep school (including the importance of getting kicked out), the "right" activities to participate in, and the right college to attend. Every aspect of prep life is explained in this humorous book. Recommended for the Prep who can laugh at his/herself and the person aspiring to be a prep.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a timeless treasure--too bad it's out of print!, April 12, 1998

By 

Mrs. Diane M. Mazonowicz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Official Preppy Handbook: The Completely Outstanding Gift Edition (Hardcover)

It's just as funny as it was back in 1980--after all, preppiness never ages! It's just a shame that it's so diffucult to get a hand on a copy--there's a whole generation out there that will be deprived of this super send-up of the madras plaid and no-socks-with-loafers crowd.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius, April 22, 2005

By 

Ruggles "Steinem" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Official Preppy Handbook: The Completely Outstanding Gift Edition (Hardcover)

This is an example of what a good book should be: timeless, very ironic, and funny. It's hard for a description of a social group to be accurate 25 years after it was written, but this book does that easily. By the way, I'm not a Prep, but have gained greater understanding of their behavior. Interesting.