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Consuming Life 1 review
Zygmunt Bauman
Polity, 2007
One of the most insightful thinkers of our time
"Consuming Life" by Zygmunt Bauman is a masterful analysis of the commodification of the individual in "liquid modern" (postmodern) society. The powers of observation displayed by the octogenarian author are without peer; Mr. Bauman seems to effortlessly assess myriad facets of contemporary culture while drawing upon a deep theoretical and practical knowledge base of philosophy, economics, ...
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Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church 7 reviews
Paul Louis Metzger
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007
Becoming the True Bride of Christ
For the sincere Christian who has often struggled with understanding why the Church today seems so ineffective and irrelevant in our society and without the transformative power that fills the New Testament, this book is for you. It will not speak of new ways to "position" the gospel or of strategic methods of evangelizing the uninterested; instead it will confront you and disarm you as it holds ...
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Consuming Kids: Protecting Our Children from the Onslaught of Marketing & Advertising3 reviews
Susan Linn
Anchor, 2005
Excellent
This book has really helped us to open our eyes and look at our current culture and how it might impact our new son. It covers media and mass marketing and how unscrupulous marketing to children has become. Before I read this I didn't understand just how insidious some of the marketing is and I would just mark parents who complained about it as "a little crazy or too strict".
I know of ...
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All Consuming Images: The Politics Of Style In Contemporary Culture 12 reviews
Stuart Ewen
Basic Books, 1990
Four and a half -- Groundbreaking Examination of Consumer Culture
This book is eye-opening and will cause you to question the extent to which your needs are manipulated by advertising and transformed into desires. Pretty dense research and dissection of the power of visual images to create and sustain a market economy.
A perfect complement to the BBC documentary series by Adam Curtis, A Century of the Self.
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Consuming Religion: Christian Faith And Practice in a Consumer Culture2 reviews
Vincent J. Miller
Continuum, 2005
Essential Reading
This is a superb book. Whether you are a person of Christian faith, or faith of another tradition, or simply someone interested in religion, this book will help you to think more deeply about spirituality and the life of the faith community in the throes of our culture of commodification. Miller employs critical theory, cultural analysis, anthropology, and sociology to awaken us to the manner in ...
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Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (Bk Currents)98 reviews
John de Graaf, David Wann, ...
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005
Changed my life for the better (through simplication)
This book quite literally changed my life in a great way. Upon reading the introductory chapters, it was clear to me that I surely had Affluenza. Continuing through the book, I realized how dire it was that our whole country was "infected" and how deeply. Finally, it offered real solutions to combating the disease.
I know the analogy of Affluenza as a disease seems a little cheesy, but it ...
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An All-Consuming Century6 reviews
Gary Cross
Columbia University Press, 2002
Consumerism Hurts
Anybody who thinks we do not live in a consumer society has either slept for the past fifty years or has something wrong with their heads. What many people do not realize is how ingratiating consumerism is, how it worms its invidious head into every facet of our existence. It is getting to the point where it seems we exist solely as receptacles for useless products. This is where Gary Cross's ...
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Chocolate: The Consuming Passion13 reviews
Sandra Boynton
Workman Publishing Company, 1982
Still a treat twenty years after it was published!
I have always had a soft spot for anything Sandra Boynton does, but "Chocolate: The Consuming Passion" is probably my favorite of her books. I have bought it for more chocolate-loving friends than I can count and they have all been thrilled with it. Boynton deftly blends together her signature cartoon animals (who for the most part try to look dignified in less than dignified ...
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Consuming Desires: Consumption, Culture, and the Pursuit of Happiness 3 reviews
Island Press, 1999
Judge the book, not the opinions
I read this book two years ago and, like with any compilation, found some writers interesting and others bland. That being said, I find it fascinating that some use these "reviews" to shoot a book like this down; you may not agree with Juliet Schor's theory of what drives us to consume, or with Alex Kotlowitz's comparison of classes in downtown Chicago, and that's okay. This book is not about ...
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Consuming Faith: Integrating Who We Are with What We Buy2 reviews
Tom Beaudoin
Sheed & Ward, 2007
Insightful and thought provoking
Beaudoin's presentation of his theology of consumption and spirituality is very accessible to people new to the concepts. His non-moralizing approach is inspirational rather than guilt-inducing. His humor is delightful. Although I personally do not come from a Christian tradition, I find this book applicable to my own life. I recommend this book to anyone who is curious about global economics.
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Consuming Cities
Malcolm Miles, Steven Miles
Palgrave Macmillan, 2004
Consuming Cities explores patterns of consumption and culture in contemporary urban environments, bringing together debates taking place in sociology and cultural studies. It is written with a broad interdisciplinary readership in mind. The book is thematically organized and draws on an international range of urban case studies from around the world. It critically assesses the impact of consumption on the economies, social structures, ...
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Consuming Youth: Vampires, Cyborgs, and the Culture of Consumption2 reviews
Robert Latham
University Of Chicago Press, 2002
The Cultural Logic of the Hunger in the Shadow of Marx
Despite the first impression one might have about its contents, this book consists of some serious (but fun!) neo-Marxist critiques of consumption (and how it can make us all "eternally young). This is accomplished by positioning the image of the cyborg and the vampire as primary metaphors in the processes of exchange in this postmodern world. If you liked The Lost Boys or The Hunger, have read ...
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Consuming Bodies: Sex and Contemporary Japanese Art1 review
Reaktion Books, 2003
Body in Japanese Art
This is a really useful book for people studying contemporary Japanese culture. Understanding the changing nature of the body in Japanese art is key to making sense of what's going on right now in art. My only complaint is that I wish they had a more academically established cast of authors, though the varying backgrounds of the critics allowed for insight into how these issues are cropping up ...
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Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely3 reviews
Editors of Green Guide
National Geographic, 2008
Clean, Green, and Refreshingly Simple
Finally a book on living a life which acts to preserve and enhance our world; not destroy it. This book, put out by National Geographic is as it says: "The complete reference for living wisely." The layout and the classification of topics are easy to understand. A mixture of text, pictures, and quick fact or reference lists make this a useful tool to deeply research a topic or to get quick ...
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Consuming Literature: Best Sellers and the Commercialization of Literary Production in Contemporary China
Shuyu Kong
Stanford University Press, 2004
This book examines the changes taking place in literary writing and publishing in contemporary China under the influence of the emerging market economy. It focuses on the revival of literary best sellers in the Chinese book market and the establishment of a best-seller production machine. The author examines how writers have become cultural entrepreneurs, how state publishing houses are now motivated by commercial incentives, and how ...
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Consuming Cities: Urban Environment in the Global Economy
Ingemar Elander
Routledge, 1999
A strong collection examining whether the Rio Declaraion has made a differene to enviromental management, and whether recent policies will help to reduce the impact of global consumption and developement. The book examines these issues through studying three categories of countries as examples: firstly, four countries from the world's core economies-the USA, Japan, Germany and Britain; secondly 'giant' states of China and India; and finally ...
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A Consuming Faith: The Social Gospel and Modern American Culture1 review
Susan Curtis
University of Missouri Press, 2001
Exploring the Roots of Modern American Morality
"A Consuming Faith" is an important study of the ideology of the Social Gospel movement present among American Christians during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Susan Curtis argues that the Social Gospel provided a necessary linkage between the Protestant-Victorian construct of society of the nineteenth century and the more secular consumer culture that emerged following World ...
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Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society3 reviews
Beth A. Conklin
University of Texas Press, 2001
A Grand Text and Appropriate for Our Age
This book is one of the best, I own on the subject matter. Very well done and extreemely detailed. I bought a second copy and gave it away as a Christmas gift this year, at my company Christmas party. It was a great success. Everyone wanted it. I'm glad Matt got to keep it. I must say that very few texts on this subject are as well done as Conklin's. I highly recomend it to anyone interested ...
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Consuming Kids12 reviews
Susan E Linn
New Press, 2004
The branding of children
Parents, grandparents, teachers, caretakers, and anyone who cares about children and the future of our nation, must read Susan Linn's, Consuming Kids, and take action. At it's core, Consuming Kids, examines the negative affects that marketing and advertising have on children. The disturbing fact is that marketing to children is a booming industry that is essentially profiting from programming ...
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Consuming Passions: A Food-Obsessed Life31 reviews
Michael Lee West
Avon A, 2000
My Most-Used Cookbook
This book is super, it's full of great stories about wonderful food. I've got a ton of cookbooks and this is the one I use the most. My favorite recipes are the Sweet Potato Souffle, Mashed Potato salad and Egg Salad recipes. I get compliments every time I serve these dishes to people.
I love the stories that accompany these recipes, it's like a lovely piece of history I savor as I eat the ...
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