The Morality of Spending: Attitudes Toward the Consumer Society in America 1875-1940 / Edition 1

by Daniel Horowitz

Overview

"For centuries," Daniel Horowitz writes, "Americans have worried about the consequences of comfort, affluence, and luxury. They have often greeted a rising standard of living with a mixture of pleasure and disquiet. Anxious about the impact of ease on the commitment to hard work, savings, and self-control, and ambivalent about the implications of increased wealth, many in the United States have expressed concern about new levels and kinds of consumption. This book traces the development of such misgivings." "Clear, judicious, thorough and unfailingly interesting; a solid work on a most significant topic."—Technology and Culture. "An illuminating study...intelligent and perceptive...full of interesting insights."—Reviews in American History. "Daniel Horowitz has made creative use of diverse sources in order to integrate several fascinating strands of American cultural history.... His findings have broad implications...."—American Historical Review. "An imaginative and carefully researched study.... The Morality of Spending accomplishes what it sets out to do: not a sociology of money but a history of ideas about money."—Journal of Social History.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780929587776
Publisher:	Dee, Ivan R. Publisher
Publication date:	02/01/1992
Series:	New Studies in American Intellectual and Cultural History Series
Edition description:	1st elephant paperback ed
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.84(w) x 8.78(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Daniel Horowitz, who did his undergraduate work at Yale and received a Ph.D. from Harvard, is now professor of American studies and history at Smith College. He is at work on a book about Vance Packard.

Editorial Reviews

Clear, judicious, thorough and unfailingly interesting; a solid work on a most significant topic.

Technology and Culture

Daniel Horowitz has made creative use of diverse sources in order to integrate several fascinating strands of American cultural history.

American Historical Review

An illuminating study...intelligent and perspective...full of interesting insights.

Reviews in American History

An imaginative and carefully researched study...The Morality of Spending accomplishes what it sets out to do: not a sociology of money but a history of ideas about money.

Journal of Social History

An illuminating study...intelligent and perspective...full of interesting insights.

Reviews In American History

Clear, judicious, thorough and unfailingly interesting; a solid work on a most significant topic.

Technology And Culture

An imaginative and carefully researched study...The Morality of Spending accomplishes what it sets out to do: not a sociology of money but a history of ideas about money.

Journal Of Social History

Clear, judicious, thorough and unfailingly interesting; a solid work on a most significant topic.