Very Important People
Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit
by Ashley Mears
Recommended by Tyler Cowen and Raul PachecoVega
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Recommended by 3 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, Social Sciences, and Nonfiction.
A sociologist and former fashion model takes readers inside the elite global party circuit of "models and bottles" to reveal how beautiful young women are used to boost the status of menMilliondollar birthday parties, megayachts on the French Riviera, and $40,000 bottles of champagne. In today's New Gilded Age, the world's moneyed classes have tak...
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Recommended by 3 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, Social Sciences, and Nonfiction.
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Recommendation Signals
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Raul PachecoVega
“Both Ashley Mears’ books are ethnographies of elites (Pricing Beauty about the modeling industry and Very Important People about the global Patty circuit) One element that I think characterizes how ethnography can be methodologically sophisticated is access to informants. | I loved this book, my favorite of the year so far. Haven’t you ever wondered why more books shouldn’t just take social phenomena and explain them, rather than preening their academic feathers with a lot of noncommittal dense information Well, this book tries to explain the Miami club where renting an ordinary table for the night costs 2k, with some spending up to 250k, along with the underlying sociological, economic, and anthropological mechanisms behind these arrangements”
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Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Recommended by 31 sources.
“Outliers reads like a series of captivating magazine profiles, each unpacking a hidden factor behind extraordinary success. Gladwell’s storytelling makes complex social science accessible, but the book relies on memorable anecdotes rather than offering systematic analysis. The book explores the idea that individual brilliance rarely stands alone; success often hinges on birth dates, cultural legacies, and the 10,000-hour rule. While the narratives are strong, the book overgeneralizes from handpicked examples, leaving skeptical readers questioning the conclusions. It’s most useful as a conversation starter about luck and timing—annoying if you want a rigorous academic treatise or a how-to guide for your own life.”
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Very Important People
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