Monday, May 16, 2005

Book

What a wake-up call. We Americans are killing ourselves with our obsession to have more. The more we have, the emptier we are. We have no time. I keep trying to put this one down, but it hasn't worked so far. I'll be up late tonight reading; call tomorrow will hopefully be slow.

FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
[De Graaf, producer of the PBS documentaries Affluenza (1996) and Escape from Affluenza (1998); David Wann, a former EPA staffer and expert on sustainable lifestyles; and Thomas H. Naylor, professor emeritus in economics at Duke, have assembled an updated and more in-depth look at the epidemic of overconsumption sweeping the United States and the rest of the world, based on de Graaf's documentaries. They define "affluenza" as "a painful, contagious, socially-transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more" and examine the spiraling cycle of overconsumption, spending, stress, and broken relationships caused by America's obsession with uncontrolled economic growth at any cost. This witty yet hard-hitting book provides evidence of the social problems caused by the American obsession with acquiring "stuff" and proposes solutions for living more sustainably. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Mark Bay, Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Lib., Indianapolis Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.]

1 comment:

Unknown said...

leah. couple of books you might also find interesting:
1. how much is enough? by alan durning (1992).
the numbers are a bit dated, but the ideas are still potent.
2. plan b by lester brown (2003).
the beginning is super depressing (man, we've messed up our planet!), but the end (plan "b") is a more hopeful outlook.
i've got both if you're interested in borrowing.