Fussell's book was a huge eye-opener for me. The mythological assumption in my family was that we were middle-class: small business operators in a poor, rural state. As such, we had very little visibility into higher classes and their practices and ways of life, outside of television programs.
It became clear, reading Fussell, that no matter what we thought about ourselves, our tastes, clothing and habits fit squarely into his high prole category, and everything suddenly seemed to make more sense, including the very belief that we thought we were middle class.
(Anyone hungry for more Fussell should read his classic: "The Great War and Modern Memory", about WWI and its place in 20th century Western society and literature. His book of essays "The Boy Scout Handbook and other Observations" is also great. It includes one about his personal experiences as a Princeton grad who went into WWII as an enlisted man.)