The Protestant establishment: aristocracy & caste in America,

This classic work should be read in tandem with its update written about 30 years later. Few analysts are as qualified as Baltzell to write about the American class structure and how it has changed over the volatile years of the late 20th century. The original work was almost the only text avalable to serious sociology students of social differentiation at the time it was written in the 1960's and it is still the best work on class origins' effects on social values in this country, even today.

This is a serious analysis of class in America. If you are interested in understanding America and how it got that way, The Protestant Establishment should be on your reading list. Baltzell coined the term WASP, and broke new ground in other, more important ways in this book.Baltzell is a very astute observer with a talent for a phrase, so the book is very readable. It's not particularly dated in style or content. However, it is a lengthy, serious study.Though originally published in 1964, the insights endure to today. (Perhaps because the class structure endures.) Those interested in sociology, culture or an informed understanding of history or society will enjoy this book.In summary ... "The book may actually hold more interest today than when it was first published. New generations of readers can resonate all the more to this masterly and beautifully written work that provides sociological understanding of its engrossing subject"--Robert K. Merton, Columbia University