Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld know a lot about at least one thing. That would be marketing. Their new book, “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America,” arrives Feb. 4 amid a swirl of controversy and publicity, and from the rather self-satisfied look on their faces in the twin New York Times portraits that accompany a recent profile, they couldn’t be happier.
Chua skillfully traded in stereotypes with the “Tiger Mom” opus that publicized her strict parenting practices laced with a smattering of self doubt and made her a household name. Now she and husband Rubenfeld – both Yale law professors – are coming back with more, much more of the same. I’m not mad at them, though the couple’s scholarship and language, with countless anecdotes and caveats, sound more self-help than Ivy League. I’m writing about them, too, because the scene they’ve created is impossible to ignore. Who could miss excerpts of “The Triple Package” and stories by and about the couple? I read about as much as I could.
