The author interviewed various individuals from all walks to see if they believed the earned were they were in life. There are some that believe that merit is combination of talents, abilities , attitude along with hard work and moral character that this should be rewarded yet there are many who say success is determined more by class, luck or by dishonorable behavior. There are many form research surveys that believe there is a disconnect between those that have it and forget that they actually may have inherited or given their advantage. For me i felt the first twenty-five percent of the book repeated itself and really this was a difficult book to get through but give it a read and see where your views fall. I would rate this three and a half stars.

The author interviewed Americans from all walks of life to find out how they defined success and whether they believed they deserved their lot in life. He found a wide variety of responses in what people thought about merit and meritocracy, and the influences of birth, external forces, innate talent, and hard work. He also found a lot of internal inconsistency and self-deception. More profoundly, he discovered that most respondents didn't consider the US to be a true meritocracy—most respondents acknowledged the role of luck and accidents of birth. So if the US isn't a meritocracy, why do we cling to the myth of the American dream? Is there a better system out there?

This book contains a lot of data but not as much analysis. I felt like the author was loathe to express his own conclusions and wanted the data to speak for itself. He does make some suggestions at the end for ways people in the US can form a more compassionate model of success.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.