Empire of Things

February 22, 2016
In this informed, detailed, and dynamic account, Trentmann (Free Trade Nation), a professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London, investigates how consumptionâthe acquisition, flow, use, and disposal of thingsâhas become a defining feature of modern lives. Organizing his work in a broadly chronological but also thematic manner, Trentmann considers a wider time frame and geographic focus than many traditional accounts of socio-economic history. He takes readers from late Ming China and Renaissance Italy to 17th- and 18th-century Britain and the Netherlands (early "hotspots of consumption"), then to Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, and beyond. He reveals the major forces that have framed the context of what and how humans have consumed: states and empires, war and ideology, markets and money. Along the way, Trentmann describes the inadequacies of various conventional perspectives and scholarly accounts. He takes no firm moral stance; rather, he aims to provide historical perspective on the rise of mass consumption, arguing that viewing the past through one's own moral filter limits understanding. Though general readers may have difficulty with the book's length and academic foundations, Trentmann has created a valuable contribution to the conversation around consumptionâa commendable fusion of scholarship and engaging writing. Photos, maps & charts.

February 1, 2016

Consumption is a driving force in the world; the economic engine to capitalism. What if there is more to consumption than economics? What if consumption plays an important role in human behavior by creating identity? Trentmann (history, Birkbeck Coll., Univ. of London; Free Trade Nation) has written one of the most comprehensive historical surveys of the subject. International in outlook, Trentmann takes on the unassailable, describing consumption from the early modern history to the present, compiling an economic and social history of the trade and accumulation of "things." Yet, the author doesn't stop there, as he also examines intellectual attitudes toward consumerism, whether in economic works or philosophy, and investigates issues such as credit, marketing, affluence, leisure versus work, lifespan consumption, and the concept of a disposal society; merging an economic chronicle with cultural and intellectual histories. The work concludes with a consideration of an emerging type of consumption of digital "things." VERDICT Trentmann raises provocative questions about whether consumerism is amoral or moral, and how such an assessment should inform the economic, social, and behavioral strata of human civilization. This book is highly recommended for readers interested in economic and social history. [See Prepub Alert, 9/28/15.]--Scott Vieira, Rice Univ. Lib., Houston

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
A wide-ranging exposition of the human life of buying, selling, and trading from the Renaissance until now. This book is the result of a lifelong study of man and his need to acquire, and Trentmann (History/Birkbeck Coll., Univ. of London; Free Trade Nation: Commerce, Consumption, and Civil Society in Modern Britain, 2008, etc.), who directed Birkbeck's Cultures of Consumption research program, seems to cover every single aspect of trade and markets since the Renaissance. He begins with early Ming dynasty China and 17th-century England and the Netherlands. The Black Death created a new labor market, raising wages, making for cheaper goods, and fostering the growth of the middle classes. The discovery of the New World brought Spanish silver to the marketplaces, monetizing trade for travelers to the Far East as well as those in Europe. New settlers provided cheap new commodities and an additional customer base. Class distinction plays an enormous part in consumerism, especially the way people dressed. The elite demanded sumptuary laws to prevent lower classes from dressing above their stations. Novelty was the fuel for consumer societies, fed by adaptation, innovation, and imitation. As people moved to the cities, their desire for goods only increased. It's hard to find an area the author missed, though he is distressed over having to omit Brazil. Throughout the book, the quotes from economists demonstrate how the values of things change, from being defined by the producer to being demanded by the consumer. The growth of literacy and the arrival of piped water, gas, and electricity all worked together over the years to make a field of study as broad as can be imagined. In an exceedingly comprehensive, overlong narrative, Trentmann takes it all in and explains the importance of coffee, tea, cotton, pensions, credit cards, and household waste. Most fascinating, perhaps, is how little the facts of consumerism have changed over centuries. A masterly work best suited to those who study marketing and are undaunted by the dense, detailed narrative.

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