Don't Miss

More at Powell's

PowellsBooks.Blog
Interviews | Q&As | Essays

Big Think

0 comments By Nathan Englander

Tonight is the first event for the new book, and I've spent most of the afternoon at home with curlers in my hair and cucumber circles on the eyes... Continue »

$17.47 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

What We Talk About When We Talk about Anne Frank: Stories
Nathan EnglanderNathan Englander 9780307958709

On Order

$15.95

New Trade Paper

Currently out of stock.

Qty	Store	Section
-	Local Warehouse	Sociology- General

Receive an email when this ISBN is available used.

This title in other editions

Used, Hardcover, $9.50

American Mania: When More Is Not Enough

by Peter C. Whybrow

ISBN13: 9780393328493
ISBN10: 039332849x
All Product Details

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A doctor's bold analysis of the cultural disease that afflicts us all. <BR>Despite an astonishing appetite for life, more and more Americans are feeling overworked and dissatisfied. In the world's most affluent nation, epidemic rates of stress, anxiety, depression, obesity, and time urgency are now grudgingly accepted as part of everyday existence--they signal the American Dream gone awry. <BR>Peter C. Whybrow, director of the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA, grounds the extraordinary achievements and excessive consumption of the American nation in an understanding of the biology of the brain's reward system--offering for the first time a comprehensive and physical explanation for the addictive mania of consumerism. "American Mania" presents a clear and novel vantage point from which to understand the most pressing social issues of our time, while offering an informed approach to refocusing our pursuit of happiness. Drawing upon rich scientific case studies and colorful portraits, "this fascinating and important book will change the way you think about American life" (Karen Olson, "Utne Reader").

Book News Annotation:

Whybrow (neuroscience and human behavior, U. of California-Los Angeles) decries the consumer-driven frenzy that passes for civilized life in modern America, and offers a cautionary tale for those with inklings to live an intelligent and happy life. He speaks of desire and debt, of globalization and greed, of compassion and community, and other matters of the heart. This is a paperbound reprint of a 2005 book. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Synopsis:

An analysis of the American consumer culture cites modern statistics in obesity, depression, and panic disorders, drawing on detailed case studies to explain how today's greed-driven and comparatively affluent society is directly related to key social and medical issues. Reprint.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!

Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

: Rian, November 13, 2009 (view all comments by Rian)
one of the more interesting aspects of this book are the comparisons between the "actual" teachings of adam smith and the way they are misunderstood today.

"... in our economic philosophy we ignore what we know about human behavior and adhere tenaciously to a dangerous misreading of adam smith's prescription for a sustainable civil society. we persist in promoting the self-interest and competition of the marketplace, not as the valuable too that it is, but as an end in itself - as an ideology."
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(0 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

report this comment

Product Details

ISBN:: 9780393328493
Author:: Whybrow, Peter C.
Publisher:: W. W. Norton & Company
Subject:: General
Subject:: History
Subject:: Sociology - Social Theory
Subject:: Wealth
Subject:: Happiness
Subject:: Social values -- United States.
Subject:: Sociology - General
Publication Date:: 20060431
Binding:: TRADE PAPER
Language:: English
Illustrations:: Y
Pages:: 338
Dimensions:: 8.38x5.54x.90 in. .71 lbs.

Other books you might like

$3.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy
Thomas FrankThomas Frank 9780385495042
$22.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

The Business of America; How Consumers Have Replaced Citizens and How We Can Reverse the Trend (Paths for the Twenty-First Century)
Saul LandauSaul Landau 9780415944694
$30.00 Used Hardcover add to wish list

Stone in the Garden: Inspiring Designs and Practical Projects
Gordon HaywardGordon Hayward 9780393047790
$14.95 New Trade Paper add to wish list

Understanding Sun Tzu on the Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the World
Robert L. CantrellRobert L. Cantrell 9780972291408
$9.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
Thomas FrankThomas Frank 9781429900324
$4.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

The Sun, the Genome & the Internet: Tools of Scientific Revolutions
Freeman J DysonFreeman J Dyson 9780195129427

Related Aisles

Sociology
- General

Follow us on...

RSS 2.0
Log Off

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.