The Official Filthy Rich Handbook
Those top-drawer trendies from the 1980Official Preppy Handbookhave grown older and richer; it's time now to tweak the lifestyles of the über-rich, people Tennant, one-time columnist for theNew York Post's Page Six gossip column and cofounder ofRadarmagazine, knows well. Tennant opens with a plutocrat primer, a sketchbook detailing various Filthy Rich types, from hedgers to heirheads. Chapters follow on where to buy homes and how to hire staff, especially that jewelry handler who carries illicit substances for high-echelon rappers. Vacations are another big issue, involving whole new wardrobes and leisure activities. Sports are great for conspicuous consumption of time and money; the most desirable sports, like fly fishing, big-game hunting or polo, can involve special vacations of their own. Even simple sports like golf require joining the right club; Tennant's matter-of-fact listing of the clubs' discriminatory barriers speaks for itself. Then, since to heir is divine, there's a chapter on having children—which boils down to buying the most exclusive baby buggy, hiring the least marriage-threatening nanny and picking the most ego-satisfying boarding school. Jazzy page layouts and endless name-dropping make for a great tongue-in-cheek humor book.(June)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.