The Politics of Mass Consumption
by Lizabeth Cohen
This book takes an in-depth look at how the post-WWII prioritization of consumption has altered our identities as well as our environment, our political system, and even our very notion of citizenship itself. Cohen works hard to demonstrate that all are now -- to varying degrees --defined in terms of personal consumption; with the concept of individual rights being framed more and more as the right to consume. While you may not agree with all her conclusions, you will certainly receive an education in how things got to be the way they are in this country today.
softcover
Whether the point of this novel is to show us the adult that lies latent in the child or to reveal to us the child that the adult never manages to quite fully outgrow is a question that is difficult if not fruitless to answer. What is certain, however, is that the novel Edwin Mullhouse is brilliantly conceived. It is also shockingly well written, replete with uncannily accurate descriptions of childhood perceptions that can at times be overwhelmingly sympathetic. It is at turns funny, sad, insightful, and even profound; but above all else, it is deeply creepy: It reveals -- almost imperceptibly at first, but then slowly, incrementally, the inertia builds, like a snowball rolling down the hill of your neighborhood cemetery -- the dark, lurking, unconscious desires that shadow what we might otherwise simply take to be our bright, waking, thoughtful acts. >> Read our full length review by clicking on the image at left.
