I picked up "The Golden Dream" mainly for two reasons. It was published in 1978, and I was curious as to how much change had occurred in the suburbs in the last 25 years. The second reason was the author. I had read "Our Crowd" and "Real Lace" that studied respectively the Jewish and Irish upper class, and thought both books were interesting, lively and well researched.

"The Golden Dream" is best described as superficial. It takes a swing through the United States usually touching on one aspect or family of the suburb mentioned (all of them very high dollar). It reads like a loosely collected series of magazine articles long on anecdotes and short on depth. River Oaks (Houston) is a send up on the vulgarity of the natives. Scottsdale (Phoenix) is well-scrubbed Barry Goldwater country and Salt Lake City is Mormon Town. I had the impression Mr. Birmingham had spent, at most, ten minutes west of the Mississippi River. He does marginally better in the central states, but home is the Northeast.

If I were a resident of any of these communities, I would be upset at the narrow focus of attention and probably wonder if he had ever actually set foot in the town he was writing about. However, "Golden Dream" is for the most part good-natured. You don't learn anything new, but he has a few good anecdotes. It is a little light for the beach, maybe a good bus read.
2-1/2 stars.
-sweetmolly-Amazon