Class ACT - by John Berendt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the bestselling, iconic author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil comes an irreverent and essential style guide--from boxers to button downs, turtlenecks to tuxedos

For more than a decade, beloved author John Berendt wrote a series of smart, sophisticated columns for Esquire on matters of manners and men's clothing. Class Act brings together over fifty of these updated and revised pieces, as well as two new additions, each focusing on an item of iconic men's fashion. Whether interviewing the Duchess of Argyll about her family's connection to a certain pair of socks, revealing the identity of the mild-mannered gentleman who invented the most macho item in the male wardrobe (the motorcycle jacket), or laying bare the bloody Crimean war origin of the cardigan sweater, Berendt informs and entertains in equal measure.

Full of surprising facts, unforgettable characters, and amusing anecdotes, this fully illustrated collection of snappy, elegant essays is as stylish as its subject matter. Part cultural history, part handbook, Class Act serves as a reminder that the clothing we wear is not simply fabric, but a reflection of our character... and sometimes our sheer audacity. A wildly entertaining ride through men's style and its place in our collective imagination, Class Act makes a strong case that taste and wit will never go out of fashion.

Review Quotes

"A tantalizing story in every subject. . . . [The] columns, where Berendt developed his style, reveal a deceptive talent for balancing the immediacy and verve of literary vamping with stealthy, authoritative analysis and gossipy history."
--The New York Times

"Before John Berendt wrote the historic bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, he wrote a series of columns for Esquire on good manners and classy men's clothing. He has updated and revised over 50 of those pieces now in a new book that can be quoted, cited and just enjoyed."
--Scott Simon, NPR's Weekend Edition

"On my gift list for the stylish men in my life. In the 1980s and '90s, before he published the mega-bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Berendt was a columnist for Esquire magazine, where he wrote a series of witty, enlightening essays on men's fashion. The timelessness of the topics--duck boots, the seersucker suit, Bermuda shorts, and baseball caps, to name a few--make for a perennially relevant compilation."
--Garden and Gun

"Berendt shares not only advice for the well-dressed man but also points his sharp eye toward the history of seemingly ordinary garments and what the things we wear might truly mean."
--Town and Country

About the Author

John Berendt is an author, editor, and journalist, best known for writing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, a Pulitzer Prize finalist in nonfiction, which was on the New York Timesbestseller list for a record-setting four years. A former editor at Esquire and New Yorkmagazines, Berendt lives in Manhattan.