This is an exploration of the problems caused by the relentless pressure many Americans feel to measure up successfully in respect of school grades, beauty, economic achievement, and various quantified aptitudes. The book focuses on various aspects, both major and minor, of social and cultural life, discussing topics such as culture, socialization, peer groups, reference groups, presentations of self, gender roles, class inequality, deindustrialization, corporate downsizing, status systems, and human agency. Having taken his critical look at modern cultural values that support the performance ethic, the author concludes with hope for a reorientation of values that could promote a more productive sense of identity in America.