Dogs eat burritos, camels smoke cigarettes, and frogs drink beer. Welcome to the Century of the Consumer. In the 20th century, Americans were romanced by consumer culture, which in turn reflected the changing attitudes, priorities, and values of the country. This book compiles entries on 100 consumer products—ten per decade—that figured prominently in the rise of consumer culture in the United States, telling the story behind the century's most popular products, slogans, and symbols. A unique format provides glimpses into American popular culture from each decade in the century. In addition to the history of advertising, economics, and the media, students will learn how perceptions of class, gender, and race were conveyed through advertising-and how those perceptions changed from 1900 to 2000. A-Z entries for each decade include bibliographic information on the product, as well as vivid illustrations showing the visual evolution of advertising icons and strategies throughout the century.

A riveting, behind-the-scenes account of the near collapse of the Ford Motor Company, which in 2008 was close to bankruptcy, and CEO Alan Mulally's hard-fought effort and bold plan--including his decision not to take federal bailout money--to bring Ford back from the brink.

This text argues that the hillbilly - in his various guises - has been viewed by mainstream Americans simultaneously as a violent degenerate who threatens the modern order and as a keeper of traditional values and thus symbolic of a nostalgic past free of the problems of contemporary life.

From Mr. Clean to Mr. Bubble, from the wholesome Quaker Oats Man to the mischievous Trix Rabbit, advertising characters are as much a part of twentieth-century Amercia as the familiar products they symbolize. Illustrated with vivid, full-color photographs, and accompanied by a fascinating text, this fanciful volume offers an entertaining look at the history and design of these pop culture icons, with their timeless appeal for consumers of all ages.

Dogs eat burritos, camels smoke cigarettes, and frogs drink beer. Welcome to the Century of the Consumer. In the 20th century, Americans were romanced by consumer culture, which in turn reflected the changing attitudes, priorities, and values of the country. This book compiles entries on 100 consumer products—ten per decade—that figured prominently in the rise of consumer culture in the United States, telling the story behind the century's most popular products, slogans, and symbols. A unique format provides glimpses into American popular culture from each decade in the century. In addition to the history of advertising, economics, and the media, students will learn how perceptions of class, gender, and race were conveyed through advertising-and how those perceptions changed from 1900 to 2000. A-Z entries for each decade include bibliographic information on the product, as well as vivid illustrations showing the visual evolution of advertising icons and strategies throughout the century.

Focusing on multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls, Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez masterfully illustrates how Barbie dolls impact femininity, body image, and cultural identity. Since her debut in 1959, Barbie has transcended boundaries and transformed into a global symbol of femininity, capturing the imaginations of girls all around the world. An American Icon in Puerto Rico offers a captivating study of that iconic influence by focusing on a group of multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls. Through personal narratives and insights, author Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez unveils the emotional attachment that these women and girls have formed with the doll during their formative years. This connection serves as a powerful lens to explore the intricate relationships girls have with their Barbie dolls and the complex role Barbie plays in shaping their identities. Aguiló-Pérez boldly confronts the challenges and contradictions that arise, offering a compelling analysis of how playing with Barbie dolls can impact a girl's perception of femininity, body image, race, and even national identity. Through these nuanced explorations, she unearths the potential pitfalls of these influences, encouraging readers to reflect on their own relationships with the iconic doll. By weaving together personal anecdotes, historical context, and sociocultural analysis, Aguiló-Pérez masterfully illustrates how these women and girls navigate the diverse landscapes of femininity, body image, and cultural identity, with Barbie serving as both a facilitator and a reflection of their growth. In doing so, she redefines the significance of Barbie in the lives of Puerto Rican women and girls, prompting readers from all around the world to reevaluate their perceptions of femininity and embrace a more inclusive understanding of beauty, body image, and self-expression.

A Deep Dive into America's Complex Relationship with Jesus There's no denying America's rich religious background–belief is woven into daily life. But as Stephen Prothero argues in American Jesus, many of the most interesting appraisals of Jesus have emerged outside the churches: in music, film, and popular culture; and among Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and people of no religion at all. Delve into this compelling chronicle as it explores how Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, has been refashioned into distinctly American identities over the centuries. From his enlistment as a beacon of hope for abolitionists to his appropriation as a figurehead for Klansmen, the image of Jesus has been as mercurial as it is influential. In this diverse and conflicted scene, American Jesus stands as a testament to the peculiar fusion of the temporal and divine in contemporary America. Equal parts enlightening and entertaining, American Jesus goes beyond being simply a work of history. It’s an intricate mirror, reflecting the American spirit while questioning the nation's socio-cultural fabric.

If you were looking for a philosopher likely to appeal to Americans, Friedrich Nietzsche would be far from your first choice. After all, in his blazing career, Nietzsche took aim at nearly all the foundations of modern American life: Christian morality, the Enlightenment faith in reason, and the idea of human equality. Despite that, for more than a century Nietzsche has been a hugely popular—and surprisingly influential—figure in American thought and culture. In American Nietzsche, Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen delves deeply into Nietzsche's philosophy, and America’s reception of it, to tell the story of his curious appeal. Beginning her account with Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom the seventeen-year-old Nietzsche read fervently, she shows how Nietzsche’s ideas first burst on American shores at the turn of the twentieth century, and how they continued alternately to invigorate and to shock Americans for the century to come. She also delineates the broader intellectual and cultural contexts within which a wide array of commentators—academic and armchair philosophers, theologians and atheists, romantic poets and hard-nosed empiricists, and political ideologues and apostates from the Left and the Right—drew insight and inspiration from Nietzsche’s claims for the death of God, his challenge to universal truth, and his insistence on the interpretive nature of all human thought and beliefs. At the same time, she explores how his image as an iconoclastic immoralist was put to work in American popular culture, making Nietzsche an unlikely posthumous celebrity capable of inspiring both teenagers and scholars alike. A penetrating examination of a powerful but little-explored undercurrent of twentieth-century American thought and culture, American Nietzsche dramatically recasts our understanding of American intellectual life—and puts Nietzsche squarely at its heart.

Dogs eat burritos, camels smoke cigarettes, and frogs drink beer. Welcome to the Century of the Consumer. In the 20th century, Americans were romanced by consumer culture, which in turn reflected the changing attitudes, priorities, and values of the country. This book compiles entries on 100 consumer products--ten per decade--that figured prominently in the rise of consumer culture in the United States, telling the story behind the century's most popular products, slogans, and symbols. A unique format provides glimpses into American popular culture from each decade in the century. In addition to the history of advertising, economics, and the media, students will learn how perceptions of class, gender, and race were conveyed through advertising-and how those perceptions changed from 1900 to 2000. A-Z entries for each decade include bibliographic information on the product, as well as vivid illustrations showing the visual evolution of advertising icons and strategies throughout the century.

'Icons of Fashion' is a graphically exciting exploration of the history of fashion in the 20th century. Together with entertaining and insightful texts, double-page layouts divide the century into eleven stylistic periods.