● Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, and Gourmands Who Conquered New York
Dylan Gottlieb
Review via The Wall Street Journal
“Violent gentrification” is an eye-catching phrase akin to “Canadian depravity” or “Luxembourgish aggression.” If it exists, it isn’t obvious. In “Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, and Gourmands Who Conquered New York,” Dylan Gottlieb does his best to alarm readers about his subject and their nefarious doings, such as moving into dicey neighborhoods and turning them into havens for fragrant bakeries and adorable cafes.
The term “yuppie” is as closely tied to the 1980s as “hippie” is to the ’60s. Young urban professionals have usually been discussed in comic terms, by such writers as Tom Wolfe and P.J. O’Rourke, with gentle mockery or even wry affection. Mr. Gottlieb, a professor of history at Bentley University, produces nearly 300 pages on the topic without a trace of humor, except in quotation.