"Social criticism at its scorching-hot best."--Barbara Ehrenreich

"Think H.L. Mencken crossed with Jon Stewart."--"The Phoenix"

In "Rich People Things," Chris Lehmann lays bare the various dogmas and delusions that prop up plutocratic rule in the post-meltdown age. It's a humorous and harrowing tale of warped populism, phony reform, and blind deference to the nation's financial elite. As the author explains, American class privilege is very much like the idea of sex in a Catholic school--it's not supposed to exist in the first place, but once it presents itself in your mind's eye, you realize that it's everywhere.

A concise and easy-to-use guide, "Rich People Things "catalogs the fortifications that shelter the opulent from the resentments of the hoi polloi. From ideological stanchions such as the Free Market through the castellation of media including "The New York Times "and "Wired "magazine, to gatekeepers such as David Brooks, Steve Forbes, and Alan Greenspan, Lehmann covers the vast array of comforting and comprehensive protections that allow the uber-privileged to maintain their iron grip on almost half of America's wealth. With chapters on Malcolm Gladwell, the Supreme Court, the memoir, and more, no one is spared from Lehmann's pointed prose.

Chris Lehmann is employed, ever precariously, as an editor for Yahoo News, "Bookforum," and "The Baffler," while dissecting the excesses of his social betters for his column Rich People Things at TheAwl.com. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife Ana Marie Cox and a quartet of excellent pets.

An ambitious, digressive, and endlessly entertaining account of the thousand-year history of the George Millses, George Mills is the antithesis to the typical Horatio Alger story. Since the First Crusade, there has always been a George Mills, who--despite his best efforts--is unable to improve his position in life or that of his descendants. Instead, all the George Millses are forced to accept their lot as true blue-collar workers, serving important personages in a series of odd jobs ranging from horse talker in a salt mine to working as a furniture mover in contemporary St. Louis. But the latest in the long line of George Millses may also be the last, as he obsesses about his family's history and determines that he will be the one to break this doomed cycle of servitude.