An All-Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Won in Modern America

Twentieth century America, says Cross, witnessed the emergence of a new concept of society, defined and developed by the acquisition and use of mass-produced goods. Amid clashing ideologies, two world wars and the Cold War, he writes, consumerism is the "ism" that won. An All-Consuming Century is the story of that triumph. Cross, a professor of history at Penn State University, explores "why and how consumerism won the twentieth century by meeting American needs, and why it may not be able to fulfill those needs in the next century." Walking a line between the "cheerleaders" and the "handwringers"—those who celebrate and those who bemoan the consumer society—he presents the tale of "a far more subtle and interesting world of the shopper than either side ever depicted."