"In this revised and updated edition, Herbert Gans extends his classic study of the roles popular culture and high culture play in American society. Gans argues in favor of all peoples' right to the culture they choose. He also looks at "dumbing down" and other examples of the new mass culture critique and lays out changes in America's taste cultures. Gans has added a new introduction and new postscripts to each chapter updating the original analysis to incorporate recent trends.

The book concludes with a concerned discussion of the fate of marginal, deviant and innovative cultures in a society in which increasing inequality makes it harder to pursue the cultural aspects of the American dream."--BOOK JACKET.