Bibliography Annotated Ross Palmer WRTG 1250 4/14/08 Stearns, Peter. Consumerism in World History: The Global Transformation of Desire. New York: Routledge, 2001. Peter Stearns reviews the history of consumerism in this book. It is broad overview of consumer culture before consumerism, historical events and changes in culture leading to consumerism, and the history of modern consumerism. The book is written with an objective view and the author recognizes that the absolute causes of modern consumerism are not fully known. Instead, the author reviews many of the main theories explaining consumerism. The source is a good unbiased account of consumer history leading up to the modern day. Peter Stearns is a professor of history at George Mason University and has written three other books about World History. Goodman, Douglas, and Mirelle Cohen. Consumer Culture. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2004. This book is exactly what the title claims it to be. It is a complete overview of modern consumer culture. It starts with an analysis of the cultural changes need for modern consumerism. The book then dives into many of the issues and problems created by consumerism. This includes the philosophical, economic, social, and environmental problems with consumerism. The book focuses mainly on the sociological effects of these issues. Both authors are professors of comparative sociology at the University of Puget Sound. Douglas Goodman has also co-authored three text books in sociological theory. Campbell, Colin. The Romantic Ethic and the Spirit of Modern Consumerism. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1987. In this book, Campbell focuses mainly on ethics and their role with consumerism. The first half of the book deals with the changing of human ethics throughout history. The back end goes further into specific ethics and analyzes exactly why these ethics lead to modern consumerism. A large emphasis is put on the Romantic period and its effects on consumers. Campbell is a professor of sociology at the University of York and has written several books about sociology of religion and sociological theory. Kasser, Tim, and Allen D. Kanner. Psychology and Consumer Culture. Washinton D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2004. This is another book that is exactly what its titled. It is a psychological analysis the of modern consumer and culture he lives in. Its main focus is on materialism and the problems it creates. It is almost a complete textbook on every issue involved with materialism and the psychological causes and effects. Both authors have PhDs in psychology and are highly experienced in the field. The both are professors are various University and submit dozens of articles, mainly focused on materialism, to different medical journals.
Trentmann, Frank. The Making of the Consumer. New York: Berg, 2006. This book focuses solely on the consumer. It provides a history look at the consumer and comparison to consumers today. It also deeply analyzes the behavior of the consumer today the problems that arise out the current state of the consumer. The book also relates to current regions and their individual effects on the consumer. Frank Trentmann is the Senior Lecturer in Modern History at Birkbeck College and the Director of the Cultures of Consumption Research Programme. Barber, Benjamin. Consumed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2007. Consumed focuses mainly on consumerism in the past twenty decades. The book contains many theories and observations on how consumerism is shaping our world today. The main focus involves corporate and advertisement efforts to produce consumer needs in people. Also, Ben gives opinion as to the future of consumerism and culture. Benjamin is not an expert in the field of consumerism but has written many books on worldly issues and consults many political and civil leaders. His best known for his book Jihad vs. McWorld which predicted the Middle East conflict, prior 9/11. Pehe, Ji. "Consuming Democracy." New Presence: The Prague Journal of Central European Affairs 2007: 4+. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 14 Apr. 2008 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25954142&site=ehostlive>. This is an article examining the changes involved in eastern European countries moving to capitalism. It analyzes the effects on the respective cultures, markets, and societies. It is a good objective article that acts as lab for the evolution of consumerism. The author is a professor in European history and written many academic articles on various European historical events.