Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams

Al Lubrano deserves the collective thanks of all of us who have crossed the formidable class divide for writing such a revealing exposition on class in America. This book is not some abstruse academic treatise on social conditions. It is a very readable insight on what it is like to cross from the working-class world to that of the college-educated professional, written by a keen-eyed, nose-to-the-ground news reporter.The other reviews here capture well the essence of Lubrano's message on the challenges "Straddlers" face in their difficult journey across class lines. I particularly value his commentary on cultural capital -- "the collectiveadvantages of the middle and upper classes." I, too, am an Italian-American rooted in the working class who transitioned to the Ivy League (also Columbia) and, from there, into the elitist, very WASPy, upper & upper middle class U.S. Foreign Service. I, too, have confronted obliqueness in professional relations and bureaucratic treachery, blatant self-promotion by colleagues and the assumption by my fellow diplomats that they are the heirs of success. But it is the class tribalism that has proven so fascinating and mysterious to me. Assignments to the choicest diplomatic posts (particularly in W. Europe) always seem to be traded among the same group of friends; fast promotions largely go a pre-selected cabal of fair-haired boys and girls who are inducted early on into a select circle of like-minded people largely from the same kind of social bacground: college-educated parents, suburban/urban-bred, upper middle class or higher, usually WASP. I found that inclusion of "he marches to his own drum" in my personnel evaluations proved to be not commendatory, but damning in that peculiarly indirect way white-collar professionals can be. As a blue-collar type whose father didn't complete high school, I was clueless starting out as to the secret social codes, nuanced manner of speaking and honed, behind-the-scenes schmoozing required to be tacitly accepted as part of the Club. At the same time, my family regards me as some sort of mutant who has been transformed into something unrecognizable by a world that is very alien to them. I have recommended Lubrano's book to the small handful of other diplomatic colleagues I know who are also "Straddlers." This has sparked a lively exchange sharing experiences and views. One reaction we all have in common is how much Lubrano's book has opened our eyes. The "Aha!" factor features prominantly in our discussions.As Cassius said, "The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves." The blue-collar denizen seeking to ensconce him/herself in the white collar professional world faces deeper obstacles than appears at first on the surface. While we face disadvantages in advancement by dint of our origins, we nonetheless greatly benefit from the down-home values with which we are brought up. It is a subject well worth further exploration and Lubrano has hel

When I heard Alfred Lubrano on NPR talking about his book, the topic and how he portrayed it was so riveting I stopped and pulled over my car so I could listen to what he had to say. The way he interspersed personal details of his upbringing - ones that were obviously painful to him - with the stories of others who felt the same way was compelling listening. That interview prompted me to read the book, which I just finished. I found it hard to put down. Lubrano is such a wonderful writer that his prose draws you deeper into the tale and keeps you going until the very end. He calls those of us who come from blue-collar families and now live middle-class lives "Straddlers." If there's a more perfect way to describe this newly identified group, I don't know what it is. In the book, Lubrano gives dozens of examples of the difficulties of straddling both worlds. He tells you why blue-collar values - i.e. blunt talk - doesn't play well in the white-collar world of doubletalk and indirectness. He shows you how in some cases it distances you even further from your relatives and the friends you grew up with yet still makes you feel like you don't quite belong with your middle-class neighbors and colleagues, who never had to worry about a part-time job or two while they were in college. Lubrano doesn't pretend to have the answers. It's obvious he's still struggling with the dichotomy of his life now vs. his upbringing, as many of us are. What he does, though, is identify an issue that has been rarely written about or studied. By doing so he elicits an "Ah-hah" feeling from people like myself who were struggling with the same issues but didn't know what the problem was. Maybe it's enough to know that you're not alone.

Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams by Alfred Lubrano covers an area that has always interested me, but for which, I have never seen covered in any book before. I am from a working class background with a college education and I am presently an executive in a major corporation. Over my long and diverse career, I have encountered many of the situations described so well in this book. However, until I read this book, I always though they were unique to me. Now because of this excellent book I am starting to look at them from a different and much broader perspective. What I have always felt was a shortcoming on my part, my inability to adapted myself to become more like my fellow executives, is probably not a shortcoming, but a plus and one of the reason I have advanced so much further than many of them and further than I ever expected. I particularly enjoyed the autobiographical portion of the book.

This is a book that really resonated with me. Having grown up in a blue-collar family, it has helped me understand an uneasy, unnameable feeling I've carried with me my whole life. As a child, they called me "encyclopedia." When I graduated from college, my working class family and neighborhood seemed more distant than ever. People called me "Professor" and made fun of the way I spoke. When I began working, that turned out to be no picnic either. Everyone around me dressed and acted differently. They seemed to have all grown up in tennis whites, having "coming out" parties, and living a far easier life. I've never spent much time thinking about "class" in relation to my career, but "Limbo" gets to the heart of what I've been feeling all these years. It's been not only fascinating, but, in an odd way, liberating as well. (You know, once you no longer feel as if you're the only one....) Few books I've ever read have offered the kind of insight that Mr. Lubrano has brought to this important subject. I thank him for this book.

For the first time, someone has succeeded in explaining to me why I always felt so diffrerent from my middle class colleagues and friends. Those who grew up and moved up from a working class family will find themsevlves in this book.