A behind-the-scenes look at prep school life offers an incisive analysis of the complex ways in which these elite schools prepare students for success and power For this book, the authors visited more than 60 elite prep schools in the United States and England, interviewing ad ministrators, faculty, students, and alumni. Attended by less than one per cent of the high school population, these schools turn out a disporportion ate number of business, professional, and government leaders. The authors argue that the philosophies, programs, and lifestyles of boarding schools help transmit the power and privilege of elite families. They show how students are selected and examine the curricula, teaching styles, student underlife, and the link between prep school atten dance and admission to the ``right'' uni versities and the corporate boardroom. An interesting sociological study as well as an educational document. Shirley L. Hopkinson, Library & Infor mation Science Div., California State Univ., San Jose Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. Peter W. Cookson, Jr., is senior research associate in the Department of Sociology at New York University. Caroline Hodges Persell is professor and chairperson in the Department of Sociology at New York University.