Living It Up - Our Love Affair With Luxury (FIRST EDITION)
by James B. Twitchell
- Used
- Near Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine
- Seller
-
Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Luxury isn't just for the rich, says James B. Twitchell. Today you don't need a six-figure income to wear pashmina, drink a limited-edition coffee at Starbucks, or drive a Mercedes home to collapse on the couch in front of a flat-screen plasma TV. In Living It Up, sharp-eyed consumer anthropologist Twitchell takes a witty and insightful look at luxury -- what it is, who defines it, and why we can't seem to get enough of it. In recent years, says Twitchell, luxury spending has grown much faster than overall spending -- and it continues to grow despite the economic recession. Luxury has become such a powerful marketing force that it cuts across every layer of society, spawning a magazine devoted to spas, cashmere bedspreads on sale at Kmart, and a dazzling array of bottled waters. Twitchell says that the democratization of luxury has had a unifying effect on culture. Luxury items tell a story that we want to identify with, and more people than ever aspire to the story of Ralph Lauren's Polo or Patek Philippe. Shopping itself is no longer a chore but a transcendent experience in which we shop not so much for goods as for an identity. Sharply observed and wickedly funny, Living It Up is a revealing and entertaining examination of why we are all part of the cult of luxury.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Shelley and Son Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 073412
- Title
- Living It Up - Our Love Affair With Luxury (FIRST EDITION)
- Author
- James B. Twitchell
- Illustrator
- Black and White Illustrations
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- FIRST EDITION
- Publisher
- Columbia University Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2001
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Affluence; Socialogy; Social Science; Marketing; Luxuries; Opulence; Advertising; Materialism in America
Terms of Sale
Shelley and Son Books
I offer a full refund if not satisfied as long as the book is returned in the same condition as sent.
About the Seller
Shelley and Son Books
About Shelley and Son Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...