Lost In The Meritocracy

Walter Kirn, “Lost In The Meritocracy” (The Undereducation Of An Overachiever), Doubleday, 2009, 211 Pages

Critic Melanie Thernstrom writes on this book’s jacket: “Imagine Holden Caulfield at Princeton: stranded in a rooming group of sadistic trust fund heirs, …” and on and on. This is a Catcher in the Rye type book but set in a college age environment rather than Salingers’ adolescent setting. Although I never really liked Catcher In The Rye, it was believable. I did not find Lost in the Meritocracy always believable. I only ordered this book because I was intrigued by the supposed theme: how a student can become proficient in answering multiple choice questions as well as proficient in using catch-phrases in theme papers and excel in school--And not have learned a thing. For example, he apparently was able to successfully navigate Princeton without actually reading any of the “Great Books”. He found it more useful to use the Cliff note summaries as well as analyze what phrases were particularly pleasing to the professors and parrot this all back in exams. The book ends with him actually beginning to read the “Great Books”, not just the anthologies; this is after he graduates from Princeton.
This book does not devote enough time on the education themes. I was not that interested in all the drug and sex scenes described throughout the book. Cross this book off your list. I cannot believe I did not just put it down but trudged on to the bitter end—at least it is a short book.

P.S. This book did serve as a catalyst, causing me to reflect on what I actually got from my college education. I concluded that I don’t really know. I too was always good at tests which used multiple choice questions. I also excelled at presenting B.S. in papers that were aimed at what I judged that particular professor would want. Only in courses such as accounting, science, and math do you actually have to learn the rudiments of the discipline to successfully navigate the tests; at least, a good short term memory is required for those subjects. I find I may be a lot like this author in that my real education began after school.