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Title details for The Triple Package by Amy Chua - Available

The Triple Package

Why Groups Rise and Fall in America

by Amy Chua
Jed Rubenfeld
Audiobook
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Mormons have recently risen to astonishing business success. Cubans in Miami climbed from poverty to prosperity in a generation. Nigerians earn doctorates at stunningly high rates. Indian and Chinese Americans have much higher incomes than other Americans; Jews may have the highest of all.
Why do some groups rise? Drawing on groundbreaking original research and startling statistics, The Triple Package uncovers the secret to their success. A superiority complex, insecurity, impulse control—these are the elements of the Triple Package, the rare and potent cultural constellation that drives disproportionate group success. The Triple Package is open to anyone. America itself was once a Triple Package culture. It’s been losing that edge for a long time now. Even as headlines proclaim the death of upward mobility in America, the truth is that the oldfashioned American Dream is very much alive—but some groups have a cultural edge, which enables them to take advantage of opportunity far more than others.
• Americans are taught that everyone is equal, that no group is superior to another. But remarkably, all of America’s most successful groups believe (even if they don’t say so aloud) that they’re exceptional, chosen, superior in some way.
• Americans are taught that self-esteem—feeling good about yourself—is the key to a successful life. But in all of America’s most successful groups, people tend to feel insecure, inadequate, that they have to prove themselves.
• America today spreads a message of immediate gratification, living for the moment. But all of America’s most successful groups cultivate heightened discipline and impulse control.
 
But the Triple Package has a dark underside too. Each of its elements carries distinctive pathologies; when taken to an extreme, they can have truly toxic effects. Should people strive for the Triple Package? Should America? Ultimately, the authors conclude that the Triple Package is a ladder that should be climbed and then kicked away, drawing on its power but breaking free from its constraints.
Provocative and profound, The Triple Package will transform the way we think about success and achievement.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    February 4, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781101975367
      • File size: 205848 KB
      • Duration: 07:08:50

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from December 16, 2013
      In their provocative new book, Chua (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) and Rubenfeld (The Interpretation of Murder)—Yale Law professors and spouses—show why certain groups in the U.S. perform better than others. Studying the more material measures of success— income, occupational status, and test scores—the authors found, for example, that Mormons occupy leading positions in politics and business; the Ivy League admission rates of West Indian and African immigrant groups far exceed those of non-immigrant American blacks (a group left behind by these measures); and Indian and Jewish Americans have the highest incomes. According to the authors, three traits breed success: a superiority complex, insecurity, and impulse control. Only when this “Triple Package” comes together does it “generate drive, grit, and systematic disproportionate group success.” Supported by statistics and original research, the authors also analyze each trait as they explore the experience of other rising cultural groups: Chinese-Americans, Iranians, Cubans, and others. This comprehensive, lucid sociological study balances its findings with a probing look at the downsides of the triple package—the burden of carrying a family’s expectations, and deep insecurities that come at a psychological price. Agents: Tina Bennett, William Morris Endeavor (Chua), Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Endeavor (Rubenfeld).

    • Library Journal

      June 15, 2014

      Married Yale Law professors Chua (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) and Rubenfeld (The Interpretation of Murder) identify and examine select characteristics differentiating what they call "disproportionately successful" minority cultures (e.g., Indian Americans, Mormons) from plain-vanilla citizens. Three traits--the titular "triple package"--common to these socioeconomically successful cultures, they say, are a disciplined work ethic, a superiority complex, and acute societal insecurity. The authors typify the model by focusing on minority groups including Nigerians, Lebanese, and Jews. Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross's delivery is crisp and confident, though the statistical and numerical information included often make for a stiff reading. VERDICT At times the data seems conveniently chosen, making the thesis feel retrofitted. Nevertheless, this work is appropriate for large public libraries and most academic collections. ["This is popular sociology at its best: well researched, heavily noted, and clearly written. Recommended to all curious general readers," read the review of the Penguin Pr. hc, LJ 2/1/14.] --Douglas C. Lord, New Britain P.L., CT

      Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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