Books on fraternity/Greek life

[BobbyTheDon]

There is a book called " The Goat Brothers" by a Pike from UC Berkeley.

It has stuff of what the PIkes from his chapter did back in the 60's. It also follows several Pikes' lives. One went onto become an astranaut, another a MLB player.

Really good book, I recommend to everyone.

[LaneSig]

"Goat Brothers" was a memoir of a man and the lives of 3 or 4 of his brothers after their fraternity years.

"Loose Change" by Sarah Davidson (Davis?). She tells about her life at UC-Berkeley in the mid-to late '60's, just as the Free Speech/Anti-war movements began. It's interesting to read about her being all gung-ho sorority girl to becoming part of the movement. (This book was made into a NBC mini-series. It's semi-famous because NBC accidently showed 20 minutes of part 3 before anyone at the network noticed. They interrupted the show, apologized, and then showed part 2. John Belushi made a funny comment about it on an episode of SNL.)

"Toward What Bright Glory?" is a fiction book surrounding fraternity brothers right before World War II starts. It's a little heavy handed, covers a lot of subjects - racism, gays, anti-Semitism, etc. But, it's pretty interesting. It's set at Stanford.
The author, Allen Drury, treats fraternity life respectfully.

Anne Rivers Siddons has written two fiction novels that have sorority backgrounds. "Heartbreak Hotel" is about a sorority girl and her introduction to racism in the mid-50's. Mrs. Siddons used real sorority and fraternity names. It's a pretty good book and fairly accurately portrays attitudes in the deep South in the '50's.
The second book is "Outer Banks". This one alternates between the lives of four sorority sisters during their school years and their lives when they reunite years later. It's interesting. Mrs. Siddons is a member of Chi Omega if I remember correctly. Both books treat sorority life respectfully.

If you can't tell, I love to read, and I read alot. lol

[TriDeltaGal]

Originally posted by LaneSig
Anne Rivers Siddons has written two fiction novels that have sorority backgrounds. "Heartbreak Hotel" is about a sorority girl and her introduction to racism in the mid-50's. Mrs. Siddons used real sorority and fraternity names. It's a pretty good book and fairly accurately portrays attitudes in the deep South in the '50's.
The second book is "Outer Banks". This one alternates between the lives of four sorority sisters during their school years and their lives when they reunite years later. It's interesting. Mrs. Siddons is a member of Chi Omega if I remember correctly. Both books treat sorority life respectfully.

Actually, Anne Rivers Siddons is a Delta Delta Delta. She is listed under our "Distinguished Alumnae" on the national website.

I actually read "Heartbreak Hotel" before I even joined DDD so I really impressed after I learned she is a tridelta.

[Greekopedia]

Originally posted by LaneSig
"Goat Brothers" was a memoir of a man and the lives of 3 or 4 of his brothers after their fraternity years.

hmmmm..... travelers? ...

[Sister Havana]

Originally posted by SigKapCoug
I'm going to unfortunately say I don't believe you, as you are the ONLY person on GC (to my knowledge) to ever say she came to your sorority/school while writing the book.

Actually, if she is who I think she is, she was featured in a large section of the book. Unlike the four main characters, her name was not changed.

To keep this on topic, I was going to recommend Loose Change and Goat Brothers too. Both are excellent books.

[ADSigMel]

Originally posted by SigKapCoug
I'm going to unfortunately say I don't believe you, as you are the ONLY person on GC (to my knowledge) to ever say she came to your sorority/school while writing the book.

Sweetie, I'm not saying she came to my sorority/school, I'm saying I'm Melody Twilley (well, I was before I got married, anyway) of the University of Alabama, and I'm featured in the book.

[kddani]

Originally posted by ADSigMel
Sweetie, I'm not saying she came to my sorority/school, I'm saying I'm Melody Twilley (well, I was before I got married, anyway) of the University of Alabama, and I'm featured in the book.

lol, i'm not sure if that's really something to be proud of

[ADSigMel]

Originally posted by kddani
lol, i'm not sure if that's really something to be proud of

Is there any particular reason that you would say something like that to me? Or do you just like to be inconceivably rude to strangers you see on the internet? I'm very proud of who I am, and I hope that you are, too (although your manners certainly leave something to be desired).

[Rudey]

Originally posted by ADSigMel
Is there any particular reason that you would say something like that to me? Or do you just like to be inconceivably rude to strangers you see on the internet? I'm very proud of who I am, and I hope that you are, too (although your manners certainly leave something to be desired).

Melody, kddani has a history of being rude, impolite, and hostile to others for no reason.

I've tried to encourage her to be kind but pay her no attention.

[ADSigMel]

Thanks for the info, Rudey. I thought perhaps I had inadvertently done something to offend her.

[kddani]

Originally posted by ADSigMel
Is there any particular reason that you would say something like that to me? Or do you just like to be inconceivably rude to strangers you see on the internet? I'm very proud of who I am, and I hope that you are, too (although your manners certainly leave something to be desired).

lol, I meant in regards to being a part of that book...

[ADSigMel]

Originally posted by kddani
lol, I meant in regards to being a part of that book...

LOL, okay, I gotcha. I wasn't saying I was proud to have been in the book. I was just saying that for identification purposes. I'm neither "proud" nor "not proud" of being in the book...it's just one of those things that sometimes happens. Like I mentioned before, she didn't even capture me all that well in the book. Sorry I jumped to conclusions before about your statement.

[kddani]

Originally posted by ADSigMel
LOL, okay, I gotcha. I wasn't saying I was proud to have been in the book. I was just saying that for identification purposes. I'm neither "proud" nor "not proud" of being in the book...it's just one of those things that sometimes happens. Like I mentioned before, she didn't even capture me all that well in the book. Sorry I jumped to conclusions before about your statement.

No problem. Irony/sarcasm and a person's sense of humor don't always translate well through typing. And if you've read any of the threads on the book you're aware of the general sentiment of GC towards that book.

[ADSigMel]

Yeah, I kinda got that idea. I still think it's an okay book if it is taken as a work of fiction, though. I can see where it might be bad PR for people on the outside (like, people who would read it and think sorority life really is that way), but I was already in my sorority (obviously) by the time it came out, so I knew to take it with a grain of salt. I'm also probably sort of biased because several people have contacted me about wanting to start chapters of my sorority after they read the book. So it wasn't bad PR for us, LOL.

But really, I can't imagine why anyone would read the book and think that all sororities (or even *most* sororities are like that). It just wouldn't make sense for women to purposely get together and make each other miserable for four years.

[Akkus]

there is also a novel called "I am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe.