See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

71 used & new from $0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Tell the Publisher! I�d like to read this book on Kindle Don�t have a Kindle? Get yours here.

I Want That!: How We All Became Shoppers (Hardcover)

by Thomas Hine (Author) "I noticed the old woman as soon as I drove into the Wal-Mart parking lot..." (more)
Key Phrases: problem shopping, New York, United States, New Year (more...)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

15 new from $4.59 56 used from $0.01

Also Available in:	List Price:	Our Price:	Other Offers:
Hardcover (Bargain Price)			16 used & new from $3.77
Paperback	$14.95	$11.66	89 used & new from $0.47

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Call of the Mall: The Geography of Shopping by the Author of Why We Buy

by Paco Underhill

3.6 out of 5 stars (37) $12.60

Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping

by Paco Underhill

3.7 out of 5 stars (151) $11.70

Point of Purchase: How Shopping Changed American Culture

by Sharon Zukin

5.0 out of 5 stars (3) $26.95

Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream

by M. Jeffrey Hardwick

4.7 out of 5 stars (7) $30.00

Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture

by William R. Leach

4.0 out of 5 stars (6) $12.89

› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
From the Mall of America to e-commerce, it seems shopping is more than a casual activity for most Americans. Although some believe that the rise of advertising and strip malls have fostered slavish devotion to shopping where it didn't exist before, Hine posits that the acquisition of objects has a firm place in humanity's history. A columnist for Philadelphia magazine and the cultural critic who coined the term "populuxe," Hine offers fresh insight into why we shop and how we are in some ways born to do so. Throughout recorded time, he states, shopping has allowed people to show their position in society and to gain a sense of personal control over their surroundings. Given shopping's rich and enduring history, it makes sense that people in the developed world now have such a preponderance of products to buy, and that they're marketed to appeal not to our needs but our desire for acceptance, attractiveness and power. Hine is a jaunty writer who breaks down an unwieldy topic into a thoughtful cultural riff. Although he touches on shopping's psychological effects (especially with those who seem addicted to it), Hine mainly refrains from assigning a positive or negative judgment. Instead, he delivers a balanced and entertaining analysis of how we arrived at our shopping-drenched state, and what those ringing cash registers really say about us. Photos.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Philadelphia columnist Hine considers why we buy what we buy. With a six-city author tour.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (November 26, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060185112
ISBN-13: 978-0060185114
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,135,812 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
I noticed the old woman as soon as I drove into the Wal-Mart parking lot. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
problem shopping

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, New Year, Prince Albert, Santa Claus, John Wanamaker, Daniel Miller, Fifth Avenue, Home Depot, New Haven

New!
Concordance | Text Stats

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	83% buy the item featured on this page: I Want That!: How We All Became Shoppers 4.2 out of 5 stars (9)
	11% buy Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping 3.7 out of 5 stars (151) $11.70
	6% buy The Great Funk: Styles of the Shaggy, Sexy, Shameless 1970s 4.5 out of 5 stars (10) $10.88

Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).

marketing(36)

consumer behavior(34)

branding(27)

retail anthropology(13)

neuromarketing(31)

simple living(14)

mid-century(5)

advertising(21)

popular culture(5)

sustainability(19)

design(5)

Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search

No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much and yet not enough, February 13, 2003

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

I really wanted to like this book. The reviews were glowing and, as a former marketing professor, I was more than a little interested.

I Want That is a birds eye view of shopping, with pages devoted to everything from gift giving to mall design to deviant buying behavior. There's a history of shopping and a sociology of shopping. Each chapter -- and some of the headings -- could be the topic of a doctoral dissertation. Brevity in this case has become misleading and, frankly,
not very exciting. All the juicy stuff has been edited out!

For example, Hine devotes just a few pages to compulsive buying, yet there has been considerable research on this topic by marketing researchers as well as clinical psychologists. There are correlations with other forms of addiction, while Hine notes only gambling. There are degrees of compulsion that vary by person and situation.

The chapter on attention emphasizes that shoppers can judge without being judged. Hine suggests that friends who join the shopper may be judgmental, implying that friends decrease shopping; however, research shows that people who shop together buy more.

The author cites research that suggests people continue to follow traditional gender roles. The real story is the change. In fact, some observers believe retailing has been transformed by gender roles more than by any other factor. Why do stores stay open 24/7? Why do more teens do the family shopping these days? What about men who are self-described clothes horses? And while women still buy most Christmas gifts, we need too recognize the increasing numbers of single-person households and families who choose to spend Christmas on a cruise.

Anyone who says, "Wow -- a book on shopping! What a great idea!" will probably enjoy this book. Those who are aware of other books on the topic, offering greater depth and insight, will be dissatisfied. This book lacks the focus, depth and analytical underpinnings of Paco Underhill's Why We Buy and Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. And I wish the author had looked at some research published in journals, not just a selection of books.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Treating our addiction (with a light and thoughtful touch), December 12, 2002

By	Inquiring Mind (Brookline, MA United States) - See all my reviews

Rarely does one happen upon a sociological and economic analysis that is truly fun to read, as hard to put down as a good mystery, amusing, insightful. That is what is so amazing about I Want That. It is anthropology, and a sound analyis of why two-legged creatures have wanted to acquire since time when, and it is a real joy to read.

From the author's creation of the concept of 'buyosphere' onward (and this is the same observer who created the so-Fifties and so descriptive term for that era, Populuxe), you have to sit back and enjoy his perceptive analysis of our behavior and our culture. Read it as entertainment, read it as cultural introspection. Either way, it is illuminating, thoughtful - and fun.

More than worthwhile for the buying season - and after.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot in one small package..., August 13, 2003

By	B. Pomeroy "bpomeroy54" (Sewell, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Thomas Hine's writing reveals a unique blend of history, marketing and pop culture savvy. Of course, anyone familiar with "Populuxe," his groundbreaking view of consumerism in the 1950's and early '60's, knows this full well.

"I Want That!" continues in that vein. Immensely readable, the book chronicles the history of shopping and consumer behavior, examining *why* humans have liked to shop over the centuries. Taking us as far back as the ancient Egyptians, Hine illustrates how politics, technology, transportation, geography and even religion have shaped our relationship with consumables and our methods of acquiring them. Even those of us who like to shop regard it as a rather mundane experience most of the time, but Hine shows how complex and significant the act of shopping truly is.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 9 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Barely skims the surface
I was excited to run across this book and eagerly dived into its pages. I was hoping it would explain American consumerism and explore the psychological and biological origins of... Read more

Published on February 25, 2007 by A reader

5.0 out of 5 stars "I Want That: How We All Became Shoppers"
The following is an email that I sent to Thomas Hine. BTW...I believe the book was great on so many levels and intent to go into sociology of consumption for graduate school and... Read more

Published on June 1, 2005 by Frederick Hunter

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written essay on an important topic
As an anthropologist and researcher on popular culture, I found this book a fun read and an informative study of the history, psychology, and anthropology of shopping. Read more

Published on May 17, 2005 by Jack D. Eller

4.0 out of 5 stars Want in one hand, and...
"Columbus killed more Indians than Hitler did Jews, but on his birthday you get sales on shoes" --The Goats

What at first might seem mundane subject matter is made illuminating... Read more

Published on March 14, 2004 by roy christopher

3.0 out of 5 stars Good start, but I wanted more
The previous reviews by C. Goodwin and R. Walker pretty much sum the book up. I liked the book, but would have preferred a little more depth.

Published on April 25, 2003 by Tim Warneka

5.0 out of 5 stars It's The Real American Pastime
Thomas Hine heavily researches and objectively looks at the history, psychology, and sociology behind what drives the almighty American economy: consumer spending (shopping). Read more

Published on January 3, 2003 by K. Johnson

› See all 9 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; }

Customer Discussions

Beta (What's this?)

New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.

This product's forum (0 discussions)

	Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
	No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

[Cancel]

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
history History of the Palestinian Nation?	814	1 minute ago
history What was the Worst Military Defeat in History?	217	2 hours ago
history What was the Romans greatest contribution to posterity?	117	2 hours ago
history Recommend a History book!	95	2 hours ago
history An Islamic Reformation?	21	4 hours ago
history Roman vs. Greek "Empires"	18	4 hours ago
history Why does Holocaust Denial Exist?	5402	5 hours ago