The Consumer Society Reader [Paperback]

Juliet Schor (Editor), D. B. Holt (Editor), Douglas Holt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1565845986 | ISBN-13: 978-1565845985 | Publication Date: August 2000

"We live in what may be the most consumer-oriented society in history. . . .Once a purely utilitarian chore, shopping has been elevated to the status of a national passion."--Juliet B. Schor, The Overworked American. A unique and definitive reader on our "national passion"--buying stuff--and its consequences for American society. We are citizens, owners and workers, believers and heathens, but today more than anything else we are consumers. How this came to be and its consequences for us all is the subject of this pioneering reader on the rise--and continued rise--of consumerism. The Consumer Society Reader features a range of key works on the nature and evolution of consumer society. It includes classics such as the Frankfurt School writers Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse on the Culture Industry; Thorstein Veblen's oft-cited writings on "conspicuous consumption"; Betty Friedan on the housewife's central role in consumer society; and John Kenneth Galbraith's influential analysis of the "affluent society." The book also includes much-discussed recent work by such leading critics as Pierre Bourdieu, Thomas Frank, bell hooks, Bill McKibben, and Janice Radway. A landmark in social criticism, The Consumer Society Reader is sure to become the standard book on the subject.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Schor (economics of leisure studies, Tilburg Univ., Netherlands) and Holt (advertising and sociology, Univ. of Illinois) have collected an impressive array of articles treating the multifarious aspects of consumer society. The anthology gathers classic essays by Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, John Kenneth Galbraith, Stuart Ewen, Pierre Bourdieu, and other familiar critics of consumption and supplements them with newer, lesser-known works. Topics range from Barry Manilow fan clubs and black Barbie dolls to Italian scooters and adman Bill Bernbach's groundbreaking publicity campaign for Volkswagon in the early Sixties. The result is a rich, complex portrait of commodity consumption in the United States and other parts of the Western world. In the end, the anthology lets the reader decide: does society empower consumers to purchase things that will increase their sense of well-being and individuality, or have we become slaves to global capitalism, buying things we do not need and in the process destroying the planet with our wasteful habits? Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. (Introduction not seen.)DAndrew Brodie Smith, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Juliet B. Schor is Senior Lecturer at Harvard University, as well as Chair in Economics of Leisure Studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. She is the author of The Overworked American and The Overspent American. Douglas B. Holt is assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Advertising, Sociology, and the Institute of Communications Research.

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565845986
• ISBN-13: 978-1565845985
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 2.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars May have bitten off more than I could chew =), January 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Consumer Society Reader (Paperback)

I have read numerous books regarding consumption, simplicity, etc. I have read all of Juliet Schor's books also. This books is an excellent thought provoking book, HOWEVER, be sure that you have a clear mind and a good chunk of time on your hands. Yes, the book is long, but that's not really the issue. It's a compilation of essays, some quite old. They do offer a lot of insight, but it tends to be more economic insight. If you enjoy reading about environmental issues and voluntary simplicity, this does have some of that, but much of it is information about things like trends in buying, capitalism and advertising. While it's an interesting read, I would advise checking it out of the library and reading the essays that interest you. Keeping this book in your library doesn't serve much of a purpose. Not even for inspiration and motivation, which is a reason I keep many of the simplicity books that I enjoy. Bottom line... pretty good read, but borrow, don't buy it.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent, August 9, 2010

By 

AGA - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Consumer Society Reader (Paperback)

It is a good web, where I can find, what I need. last order was shipped very fast, and books are very good. Thank you!!!

1 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, February 13, 2008

By 

Lucy Meyers (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Consumer Society Reader (Paperback)

For such an interesting topic, it's just a bland and boring way to present it. I had to read this book for a graduate class, and it was like pulling teeth. I've read many books on similar topics that actually succeed at engaging the reader. This book is just odd, boring, and bland. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!