contrast to boyishness. Masculine identity was therefore enacted through independence, oratorical skill, and an undying loyalty to one’s peers. The second chapter, titled “The Sacred, the Secular, and the Manly,” discusses the ways in which fraternities in the antebellum period quickly became a way for students to distinguish themselves on campus. Although many colleges were focused on preparing men for the ministry, a disproportionally small percentage of fraternity members were headed for the ministry. Syrett provides several explanations for this, including economic class (fraternities were expensive, and those entering the ministry were often poor or on scholarship), and a general ministerial opposition to secret societies. However, Syrett begins to build his central argument with a more unconventional explanation: the fraternity members sought a more “manly” image than that of their religious peers. The most handsome, athletic, social, and confident students were invited to join fraternities. During this period of the 1810s through the 1850s, fraternities also allowed members to set themselves apart from a small but growing population of “others” on campus, particularly women and African Americans. Chapter 3 focuses on the national aspects of fraternity membership in the 1800s. As fraternal organizations began to expand in the 1840s and 1850s, the benefits of membership in a nation-wide, elite, and White network of alumni became apparent. Business and social connections were substantial among fraternity alumni, and provided a sense of stability during the upheaval of Reconstruction. Alumni clubs became well-established following the Civil War, and alumni became more involved with The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities Nicholas L. Syrett Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2009, 432 pages $30.00 (hardcover)