The Class of '75

Written by the men and women who were part of it, The Class of '75 is a unique and captivating portrait of one class of Harvard graduates - "the best and the brightest" - at the peak of middle age, when measures of success and happiness are not necessarily, as one class member wrote, "a dumpster in the side yard and a whole-house gut-job renovation underway, a decorator, an SUV, a country club membership, stock options, (and) a seven-figure paycheck." Here, with surprising candor, participating classmates reflect on their first quarter century out of college (which happened to coincide with the last quarter century of the millennium) and offer a fascinating perspective on career and life trajectories, changing mores, evolving priorities, attitudes toward religion, and issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
Available to the public for the first time in this book, independent of the university, The Class of '75 comprises nearly 400 reflections, written at the time of the class's 25th reunion in the year 2000. Although the life experiences and mid-life accounts collected here vary widely (from bittersweet to proud, serene to regretful), taken together these reflections form a compelling and poignant book, one with which a whole generation of Americans will identify.
With an introduction by George E. Vaillant, author of the bestselling Adaptation to Life, "before" and "after" photos of many of the graduates, and fascinating data on career choices (from CEO and MD to woodworker, ambassador, and homeschooling mom), marital choices ("two girlfriends, neither live-in," "a beautiful wife, for awhile"), and avocational interests (fly fishing, American bull dog breeding, yoga, and the "tendency to collect degrees or professional affiliations and then not apply them"), The Class of '75 offers a seminal, longitudinal look at a generation of Americans who came of age during the biggest boom on record, amidst a dramatically changing world.

George E. Vaillant is Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Director of the Study of Adult Development, Harvard University Health Services; and Director of Research in the Division of Psychiatry at the Brigham and Women's Hospital.