josh Allan

I just finished a book called “I Am Charlotte Simmons” by Tom Wolfe, a fascinating expose/discussion/analysis on/about college life.

The phrase “not for the faint of heart” comes to mind if you’re thinking about picking it up, but it is supremely well-written, and quite thought provoking.

Without tranforming my blog into a book review, if you’re interested in knowing, Wolfe explores a couple facets of college life that are surpremely interesting and mostly frightening: the unjustified elitism of collegiate athletes, the insulting caste system of “cool” (and the harsh American reality that one can never really be ’smart’ and ‘cool’ at the same time), the billowing superiority of the rich, the complete (but not quite as ubiquitous as he portrays — in my post-college experience, anyhow) moral ineptitude of the student, the profanity-laden patois of the common campus, and the universal human desire for acceptance.

Overall, it’s quite a good read — and would probably be incendiary material for starting some meaningful discussions… if you had the right group.

Maybe a little long, though.

Eh, my two cents, worth precisely that!