The All-Consuming Nation: Chasing the American Dream Since World War II

"In some ways, The All Consuming Nation is an autobiography of the babyboom generation since it highlights the consumer culture and rising environmental consciousness that has been central to that generation's lived experience. That should appeal to a wide audience of regular readers. Those who are sensitive to such current issues as wealth inequality, climate change, and the environmental consequences of mass consumerism will also find the book as a way to see how we reached our contemporary crisis points and possible ways to curb current excesses. The book alternates chapters on the evolving consumer economy with chapters on environmental critiques of mass consumerism. It considers the technologies that have fuelled consumption, strategies such as planned obsolescence that sustain consumption, and the shift in retailing from brick and mortar to on-line shopping. Environmental critics have viewed every shift in patterns of increasing consumption as ultimately unsustainable. Finally, the book should serve as text for post World War II surveys in American History, Environmental History, as well as business and marketing courses"--