Product Description

Affluenza should make us all realise that material possessions are never enough to satisfy spiritual hunger. The authors of Affluenza challenge us to think beyond the superficiality of individual economic demand to the deeper meaning of life.” —Bill Bradley, former United States Senator and Presidential Candidate

The first edition was a bestseller (more than 75,000 copies sold) that inspired a movement; now heavily revised, the second edition addresses today’s “affluenza” with a new urgency, but also hope for recovery.

Based on two highly acclaimed PBS documentaries, Affluenza uses the metaphor of a disease to tackle a very serious subject: the damage done to our health, our families, our communities, and our environment, by the obsessive quest for material gain.

With a new introduction and updated figures all throughout, this revised edition ups the ante for the continuing war we must wage against consumerism nationwide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #287012 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Affluenza is an eye-opening, soul-prodding look at the wretched excess of today's American society. John De Graaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor define it as something akin to "a painful, contagious, socially-transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more". Having begun life as two US TV programmes co-produced by De Graaf, this book takes a hard look at the symptoms of affluenza, the history of its development into an epidemic, and the options for treatment. In making its readers aware of this pervasive disease in an age when "the urge to splurge continues to surge", the first section is the book's most provocative. According to figures the authors quote and expound upon, Americans each spend more than $21,000 per year on consumer goods, average rates of saving have fallen from about 10 per cent of income in 1980 to zero in 2000, credit card indebtedness tripled in the 1990s and more people file for bankruptcy each year than graduate from college. "To live, we buy," explain the authors. They present many of the historical, political and socio-economic reasons that affluenza has taken such strong root in American society and, in the final section, offer practical ideas for change. These use the intriguing stories of those who have already opted for simpler living and are creatively combating the disease, through simple habit alterations to more in-depth environmental considerations and from living lightly to managing wealth responsibly.

Many books make you think the author has crammed everything they know into a one-hit wonder attempt at knowledge transfer. The feeling you get reading Affluenza is quite different; the authors appear well-read, well-rounded and intelligent, knowledgable beyond the content of their book but smart enough to realise that we need a short, sharp jolt to recognise our current ailment. It's obviously a cliché that money can't buy happiness, but this book will strike a resounding chord with anyone who realises that time is more valuable than toys. Affluenza is a clarion call for those interested in being part of the healing solution. --S Ketchum

About the Author
John de Graaf is the national coordinator of Take Back Your Time Day, an annual event scheduled for October 24th, (see www.timeday.org) and a frequent speaker on issues of overwork and over-consumption in America.

David Wann has written and edited seven books and hundreds of articles, and has produced many videos and television programs about sustainable designs and lifestyles. He is the current president of the Sustainable Futures Society, a non-profit organisation.

Professor Emeritus of Economics at Duke University, Thomas H. Naylor is a writer and social critic who has also taught at Middlebury College and the University of Vermont. As an international management consultant specializing in strategic management, Dr. Naylor has advised major corporations and governments in over thirty countries.

Customer Reviews

a modern disease
As the title suggests Affluenza is a modern disease to do with affluence, over-consumption and the materialistic world. The authors use numerous examples to show that affluence does not necessarily improve the quality of life but can just add to stress, information overload, traffic congestion, evaporating spare time and environmental degradation. The section on `treatments' is not quite so convincing , but by then you've got the picture anyway.

Every one should read this book!
Every civic minded person will get a lot out of reading this book.
Although a lot of the information is quite depressing,when you digest what you read, you soon realise that your efforts can make a difference.

I wanted to read this book ages ago but thought it might be a little "dry", it isn't at all!

It is well written, balanced and I think every one over the age of 16 should read it before they decide what they want out of life.

I am already trying to live frugally, but I know that having read this book, I will be trying even harder to live lightly on this Earth.

I believe that reading this book will have saved me money as I will now analyse future purchases with much greater scutiny.

shocking!
Mall of America - People fly across their state to go on a shopaholic splash-out until the plastic crumbles. They stay in one of the mall's hotels, eat, drink, carry bags, and when they have finished with their retail therapy they fly back home. At home the joy lasts for a couple of weeks, then the credit card bill comes....OUTCH!!
This book investigates the consumerism of modern day America and tells you some shocking facts and numbers. A depressing read for anyone green when it comes to consumption figures, e.g. 25% of all the exported timber in the world goes to the U.S., or if every person in the world would want to sustain an all American lifestyle we would need four more earths...!

But it's not all doom and gloom as the authors suggest remedies to cure our addiction to stuff! I liked the story of the man who went for a walk by a polluted river with no trees left, so he started clearing up and planting trees. Now, years later there is a flourishing woodland by the same river - clean and beautiful!

The authors certainly make a point and the first half is really good. European consumers are describes as more careful with resources, but I wish the book was written from a global point of view, taking all wasteful earthlings into account...