From Publishers Weekly
'We shop therefore we are' seems to be the conclusion of this homage to the great American pastime. Rather than pass judgment on our shopping compulsion, Zukin, an endowed chair of sociology at the City University of New York, provides a historical and analytical context to help readers understand how shopping has affected public and private life from the mid-19th century to today. Zukin's 1995 book, The Cultures of Cities, described her experiences growing up in one of Philadelphia's retail neighborhoods and examined how other shopping districts, like 125th Street in Harlem and Fulton Street in Brooklyn, had gone through significant racial changes. Here she dissects shopping culture at large, from eBay and the Internet to the death of Woolworth's and the birth of WalMart. Well researched and thorough, the book unearths how and where we shop and, more importantly, why consumer culture has so much power over us. Zukin examines these issues by analyzing both particular individuals' experiences-such as a young woman's search for the perfect pair of leather pants-and retailers' shifts in business strategies. For many people, Zukin writes, shopping isn't simply a transaction, but an experience: "We dream of shopping for beauty, truth and perfection, and if we do not shop for a perfect society, at least we shop for a perfect self." She believes that the noblest aspect of shopping is finding a community, a discovery that usually happens at a place like a farmer's market or a neighborhood store, where interaction among customers is fostered. Rallying for these public spaces rather than buying things, she argues, should be what we use shopping to achieve. Though this book is more likely to appeal to specialists than to general readers, Zukin's lively prose and vivid anecdotes may win her a larger audience.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
0 有用 Eudaimonia 2018-08-06 00:15:09
完全没想到六年前读完"the perfect pair of leather pants"analogy竟然常存于心,最近写教育相关还时常想起这个消费主义的隐喻,只能拿起来重读下导师的书啦- -心境大不同,当时读的时候完全是闺蜜随手买的一本社科闲书...当然和Sharon相熟之后,更能发现这本书self-indulgent的部分- -Sharon的写作风格对年轻社会学学者真是不太能随便借鉴(而且感... 完全没想到六年前读完"the perfect pair of leather pants"analogy竟然常存于心,最近写教育相关还时常想起这个消费主义的隐喻,只能拿起来重读下导师的书啦- -心境大不同,当时读的时候完全是闺蜜随手买的一本社科闲书...当然和Sharon相熟之后,更能发现这本书self-indulgent的部分- -Sharon的写作风格对年轻社会学学者真是不太能随便借鉴(而且感觉当年读的时候和现在get的点没有任何重合啊!) (展开)
0 有用 Zzzzzzxx 2017-11-20 17:09:29
写作细节可以参考,至于整体观点这本书似乎没有什么亮点
0 有用 Eudaimonia 2018-08-06 00:15:09
完全没想到六年前读完"the perfect pair of leather pants"analogy竟然常存于心,最近写教育相关还时常想起这个消费主义的隐喻,只能拿起来重读下导师的书啦- -心境大不同,当时读的时候完全是闺蜜随手买的一本社科闲书...当然和Sharon相熟之后,更能发现这本书self-indulgent的部分- -Sharon的写作风格对年轻社会学学者真是不太能随便借鉴(而且感... 完全没想到六年前读完"the perfect pair of leather pants"analogy竟然常存于心,最近写教育相关还时常想起这个消费主义的隐喻,只能拿起来重读下导师的书啦- -心境大不同,当时读的时候完全是闺蜜随手买的一本社科闲书...当然和Sharon相熟之后,更能发现这本书self-indulgent的部分- -Sharon的写作风格对年轻社会学学者真是不太能随便借鉴(而且感觉当年读的时候和现在get的点没有任何重合啊!) (展开)
0 有用 Zzzzzzxx 2017-11-20 17:09:29
写作细节可以参考,至于整体观点这本书似乎没有什么亮点