Although I never found myself as angry at the book as Pocker claims a reader will get, it did start off on a sour note for me. As a marketing professional, his sharp criticism of marketing as being this evil entity rubbed me the wrong way and felt lacking in a complete picture. But as I pushed on and got into the rhythm of the book, the missing pieces I was looking for came together - lack of critical thinking, herd mentality, taking in everything at face value, being a passive participant in our own consumerism, general mis-education of our youth that leaves them uninspired and unmotivated... these are all things our society is guilty of. It feeds a vicious cycle that is not just bad for individuals and communities but is bad for our economy and our environment.
Pocker offers his solution to these issues (which may or may not be right for you), and his points are all well taken. and ultimately, he achieves what he tells you is his purpose from the start... to make you think differently about what you buy and how you buy it. I found myself reading the ads on the subway differently, double checking my receipts before leaving stores (only to find that the second time I did so - at Whole Foods - they had rung up two identical items with two different prices - one as marked, and one $0.61 higher!), signing up for a pharmacy frequent shopper card to take advantage of 1/2 price vitamins even though I'm not thru the ones I have now (I'll get there eventually, and they don't go bad anytime soon), and even (gasp) clipping a few coupons. All left me with a sense of empowerment, and, frankly a sense of fun as well.
Yes, sometimes there is an incomplete picture of the entire "value chain" required to get products to you, and sometimes Pocker seems to declare what's a "fair" versus "outrageous" price without much evidence to back it up. But isn't that what sharpening your critical mind is all about? catching those things and thinking through what is right for you and your family - NOT just blindly taking in what everyone (yes, even Pocker) tells you?
Even without being a tree-hugger, how can you deny that our society churns out more useless junk than items that actually improve lives? By shining the spotlight on these bizarre and inane practices by large faceless organizations, Pocker is in his own small way trying to make the world a better place.
And he's doing so in an entertaining way that was a really enjoyable read. Now that, I call value.
