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Empire of Things

How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First

Frank Trentmann

$29.99

Paperback

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English
Penguin
18 April 2017
What we consume has become the defining feature of our lives: our economies live or die by spending, we are treated more as consumers than workers, and even public services are presented to us as products in a supermarket. In this monumental study, acclaimed historian Frank Trentmann unfolds the extraordinary history that has shaped our material world, from late Ming China, Renaissance Italy and the British empire to the present. Astonishingly wide-ranging and richly detailed, Empire of Things explores how we have come to live with so much more, how this changed the course of history, and the global challenges we face as a result.

By:  
Imprint:   Penguin
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 198mm,  Width: 129mm,  Spine: 39mm
Weight:   654g
ISBN:   9780141028743
ISBN 10:   0141028742
Pages:   880
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Frank Trentmann is Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London, and directed the GBP5 million Cultures of Consumption research programme. His last book, Free Trade Nation, won the Whitfield Prize for outstanding historical scholarship and achievement from the Royal Historical Society. He was educated at Hamburg University, the LSE and at Harvard, where he received his PhD. In 2014 he was Moore Distinguished Fellow at Caltech.

Reviews for Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First

Utterly fascinating ... What makes Trentmann's book such a pleasure to read is not just the wealth of detail or the staggering international range, but the refreshing absence of moaning or moralising about our supposed addiction to owning more stuff -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * You can't not learn something new here ... [An] epic tale -- Marcus Tanner * Independent * A history not merely of consumption (and attitudes toward consumption) but also of the very idea of goods as a thing to be produced and consumed. Every page fascinates -- Stephen L. Carter, 'Great History Books of 2016' * Bloomberg * I read Empire Of Things with unflagging fascination ... [Trentmann] is not only an elegant, adventurous and colourful writer, he also manages the tricky balancing act of being eminently sensible and gleefully provocative -- John Preston * Daily Mail * Laden with fascinating insights and accounts, the result no doubt of extensive research, this study spans not only six centuries and numerous civilisations, cultures and individuals but also finds time to comment on the beginnings, direction and outcomes of consumerism itself. This is a hugely impressive undertaking and an ambitious narrative -- James Sheridan * Irish Times * A monumental book on a monumental subject ... Rich and illuminating ... No-one who reads it will think about consumer society in the same way * Revista de Libros * [Empire of Things] is wider in scope geographically, historically and socially than anything preceding it ... The epilogue to this story of consumption is salutary: history is essential to our understanding of the continuing rise in material consumption far beyond a sustainable level * Ethical Consumer *


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