Essential reading for understanding today's elite. Not since Christopher Lasch's Revolt of the Elites has the meritocracy been so effectively skewered.---Austin Bramwell, American Conservative
[T]his book is beautifully written and filled with important insights into processes of socialization among the elite. I recommend this book for all scholars interested in the reproduction of inequality in U.S. society.---Wendy Leo Moore, American Journal of Sociology
[E]thnographic research into the very heart of privilege. . . . [Khan] steps down from his pedestal and lets himself get closer to these future masters of the universe.---Robin D. Schatz, Bloomberg News
Privilege is a welcome addition to the sociological literature on elite prep schools. . . . [Khan] is the narrator of this ethnography, and he is often a participant in the events he observes and analyzes. We get to know him, and he is an enjoyable and informative companion, one who is honest about the challenges he has faced.---Richard L. Zweigenhaft, Oxford Journals
If you want a peek inside an elite New England prep school, here it is. . . . But while nosiness about St. Paul's is a perfectly good reason to read the book, Khan's purpose is higher. This is a book about the promise of America and how well the nation is fulfilling it. It is a book that suggests how money still trumps ideals and how a myth fostered at St. Paul's and other such schools serves a new elite class. Most usefully, the book explores why racial and ethnic diversity--a challenge that St. Paul's is meeting admirably--is not synonymous with mobility and equality. . . . Full of valuable insights.---Mike Pride, Concord Monitor
Honorable Mention for the 2012 Distinguished Book Award of the Race, Gender and Class Section of the American Sociological Association
"Privilege is superb. Khan skillfully narrates from the perspective of both teacher and researcher, and the personal portraits are very well-rounded. This important book is a masterly look at a disturbing current in the formation of elite American society."—Richard Sennett, author of The Corrosion of Character
Returning to his alma mater as faculty member and ethnographer, Khan offers an incisive study of the formation of a new, meritocratic elite. . . . Of utility and wide appeal to a range of academics, Khan's study is consistently engaging and of potentially enduring value.
While the empirical meat of Privilege is from the United States, Canadian scholars of inequality and education will find this book useful. The ethnographic material is worth reading for its empirical contribution alone; but more importantly it also illustrates how the relative steepness of the U.S. postsecondary system contributes to enduring social inequalities.---Janice Aurini, Canadian Journal of Sociology
Khan's many perspectives--as a minority student in a rich WASP school, as a teacher interacting with his students, and as a researcher observing his subjects--gave him unique access to understanding the American elite. . . . Khan's objectivity turns to pessimism as he describes the result of greater diversity, which he finds 'does not mean mobility and it certainly does not mean equality.'---Barbara Fisher, Boston Globe
[Privilege] fills in the crucial missing piece. It's a well grounded description of the people who are the 'input' into the elite higher education system. It's a view of elite life from the 'training camp,' right before they are unleashed into American society. Highly recommended to anyone interested in stratification and education.---Fabio Rojas, OrgTheory.net
Winner of the 2011 C. Wright Mills Award, Society for the Study of Social Problems
[Shamus Rahman Khan's] book [is an] excellent, engaging, well written, and carefully researched study of the ways culture works in and through schools.---Lisa M. Stulberg, Contexts
Privilege sets out to understand 'the new elite' and its place in the larger story of American education.---Josh Rothman, Boston Globe, Brainiac
[T]he elites in Britain and in America have changed. They now appear more open. More worldly. More meritocratic. For a description of how that process works, look at [Privilege].---Aditya Chakrabortty, Guardian
Shamus Rahman Khan has his part in loosening the knot of privilege, by analyzing America's dreams and telling us why some of them remain thwarted. . . . Privilege is an exceptional cultural study of inequality that concentrates on elites. It is a brave piece of work, guaranteed to raise the hackles of more than a few private school trustees, administrators, faculty and parents.---Michael D. Langan, Buffalo News
There are few ethnographic accounts of life in exclusive American boarding schools and Khan's book is far and away the most sophisticated among them. But the contribution of Privilege goes beyond this narrow field. Those interested in the sociology of culture, stratification, everyday life, education, race, and gender will find much to appreciate. . . . Khan is a versatile and earnest ethnographer with a sharp eye for gesture and a keen ear for dialogue.---Victoria Bonnell, Contemporary Sociology
"This is a terrific book. Khan's strong authorial voice and wonderful personality shine through and it is a pleasure to follow his life and travails at St. Paul's."—Michèle Lamont, Harvard University
Privilege is a welcome addition to the sociological literature on elite prep schools. . . . This readable book provides a vivid, often elucidating, and not always pretty look at life at St. Paul's as of the 2004-05 school year.---Richard L. Zweigenhaft, Social Forces
