Written in French academic style and dealing with French life-styles and markers of social standing in the 1960s, Bourdieu's book is nevertheless of universal scope and highly rewarding as a study and analysis of the way we make our own history in our given and inherited circumstances. Precisely because grounded on empirical data on a specific society at a specific point in time it has much to teach about the actual processes of social life and hierarchies and competition, and markers of rank in terms of income, culture and authority. One has to take exception to Bourdieu's conception of "classes" and their boundaries in terms of general class analysis, but, partly imposed by the statistical data as it is, it makes sense in those of his specific problematic - which in itself suggests an important point of his analysis. Everybody interested in the question of social divisions and distinctions in advanced capitalist societies is likely to find it immensely interesting, abstruse or not. Urgently recommended.