“Equal parts entertaining and insightful, McGrath charts the rise and fall of the Yuppies with a cast of larger-than-life characters. You’ll come for the nostalgic trip through the eighties—and stay for the sharp social commentary.” — New York Times bestselling author Ben Mezrich

Triumph of the Yuppies charts Baby Boomers' transformation from hippy idealists in the late 1960s to careerists in the early 1980s, and details how marketers, the media, and politicians pivoted to appeal to this influential new group.

Yuppie values had an undeniable impact on the worlds of fashion, food, and fitness, as well as affecting the broader culture—from gentrification and an obsession with career success to an indulgent materialism. Most significantly, Yuppies’ me‑first mindset helped create the largest income inequality in a century.

Tom McGrath’s masterful cultural history reveals how Yuppies reshaped American society.

Praise for Triumph of the Yuppies

  • "McGrath revels in the stories of a generation that turned its back on protest and bought into consumer culture.

    The ultimate triumph of the yuppies is that we don’t even call them yuppies anymore.”

    — New York Times Book Review

  • "Triumph of the Yuppies is a Rosetta Stone for decoding how [the eighties] shaped our current climate.

    Make room on your bookshelf for Tom McGrath’s ideal companion volume to Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, Steve Gillon’s Boomer Nation, David Brooks’ Bobos in Paradise, Susan Faludi’s Backlash, and, yes, that way-overdue Blockbuster video of Wall Street.”

    —David Friend, author of The Naughty Nineties

  • "If Sharper Image stores were still around, they could offer their coolest gadget ever: a time machine that looks like a book.

    McGrath smoothly transports us back to the neon-lit moment of sushi, suspenders, and junk bonds that fascinatingly illuminates the darker economy we live with today."

    —Benjamin Wallace, author of the New York Times bestseller The Billionaire's Vinegar

  • "A witty and occasionally sobering account

    of the era in which the haves and the have-nots broke up for good.”

    — Boston Globe

  • "Tom McGrath brings us right down memory lane in a highly readable, highly enjoyable way.

    For readers born into the Yuppie generation, or who are just curious what it was all about and why it matters, this is the book for you.”

    —New York Times bestselling author William Cohan