Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.75 (750 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0062456342 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 880 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-08-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A non-addicitve sleep aid Mad Dog Vast in scope, mind-numbing in detail, prolix beyond belief, and so repetitive you'll get very tired of knowing how many shirts Jacob had in his chest in 1611.and, in the end, inconclusive. The book does not elucidate HOW we became a world of consumers (apparently we always have been) it just documents ad nauseum and ad infinitum that we are. No fooling.. "One of my "Books of the Year"" according to Jehoshephat. This is an extraordinary book, bringing in wide swaths of history, economics and sociology around the globe from the 15th to the 21st centuries. It's full of facts, their contexts and the author's interpretations, and nothing is included just to function as padding; it's all good. Even better, the book is written in straightforward, fluent English, not in academic-ese, and the organization (chronological and then more topical) could not be clearer. Because of the length and breadth, you have to devote some time to it, but it's time very well spent.. Erik Nielsen said Great read, well researched. Great read, well researched, probably the most interesting and insightful history book I've read in a long time. Wonderful job putting today's society in context and providing the insight into how we are were we are.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought department stores, credit cards and advertising, but also the rise of the ethical shopper, new generational identities and, eventually, the resurgence of the Asian consumer.With an eye to the present and future, Frank Trentmann provides a long view on the global challenges of our relentless pursuit of more—from waste and debt to stress and inequality. How have we come to live with so much stuff, and how has this changed the course of history?In Empire of Things, Frank Trentmann unfolds the extraordinary story of our modern material world, from Renaissance Italy and late Ming China to today’s global economy. While consumption is often portrayed as a recent American export, this monumental and richly detailed account shows that it is in fact a truly international phenomenon with a much longer and more diverse history. Our economies live or die by spending, we increasingly define ourselves by our possessions, and this ever-richer lifestyle has had an extraordinary impact on our planet. A masterpiece of research and storytelling many years in the making, Empire of Things recounts the epic history of the goods that have seduced, enriched and unsettled our lives over the past six hundred years.. What we consume has become a central—per
“A sweepingly detailed history of humanity’s passion for the possession of objects an epic chronicle.” (Wall Street Journal)“Massively ambitious… Trentmann displays astonishing erudition across multiple disciplines.” (Washington Post)“In this important book, Trentmann argues that our increasingly complex consumer societies have evolved over five centuries.” (Financial Times (A Summer Book of 2016))“Big, deeply researched and hugely ambitious.” (The Times Literary Supplement)“Empire of Things is a masterpiece of historical research a delight to read.” (The Times
Gallen, the British Academy, and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris. His last book, Free Trade Nation, won the Royal Historical Society’s Whitfield Prize. Frank Trentmann is a professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London, and directed the £5 milli