The Overspent American : Upscaling Downshifting and the New Consumer

...a scornful indictment of consumerism ... This is the stuff from which revolutions are made. -- Entertainment WeeklyThe Overspent American is strongest when it employs imaginative economic analysis to show us the inner workings of our materialism. -- Business Week, Keith H. HammondsConsumerism is a hugely complicated topic because it reflects not only individuals' beliefs, desires, tastes and jobs but also grander, if fuzzier, concepts like progress, tradition, democracy and class. Unfortunately, Ms. Schor's book has neither the intellectual rigor to master this subject nor the insight to be engaging about it. -- The Wall Street Journal, Cynthia Crossen