Culturebox: Saved by Corduroy

Now playing: Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V at www.slatev.com.
culturebox Saved by Corduroy How the original Preppy Handbook changed my life. By June Thomas Posted Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, at 6:08 PM ET You can't blame Lisa Birnbach for revisiting her greatest hit, The Official Preppy Handbook, which climbed the best-seller lists in 1980. But True Prep, a sequel that arrives in bookstores next week, doesn't compare. It simply isn't helpful enough. Thirty years ago, while still an undergraduate in England, I got my hands on a copy of the original Handbook, and it changed my life. I'd always been obsessed by America--I was majoring in American studies at the time, and I spent most of my waking hours trying to finagle my way into a U.S. graduate school--but my vision of the place was mostly gleaned from Hill Street Blues and the Mamas and the Papas. I thought everyone dressed in uniforms or kaftans. The Preppy Handbook clued me in. To continue reading, click here. June Thomas is Slate's foreign editor. You can e-mail her at intpapers@slate.com or follow her on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin to Break 9/11 Truce With Huge Rally Why Is Everyone Always Underestimating Netflix? How the Original Preppy Handbook Changed My Life	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe | Newsletter Center | Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here.
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC | Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive | c/o E-mail Customer Care | 1150 15th Street NW | Washington, D.C. 20071