(Jossey-Bass, $25.95)
A majority of Americans have “radically revised” their spending in response to the current recession, said Tara-Nicholle Nelson in The Boston Globe. That was the finding of ad executive John Gerzema when he examined the data in his “extensive, longitudinal study” on American buying behavior. Together with business writer Michael D’Antonio, he then set off on a “post-bubble, coast-to-coast road trip” to get to know these “Spend Shifters” and the changes they’re embracing. The book takes readers from “burned-out Detroit” to “hardscrabble Texas” and “hip Los Angeles,” said Ted Malloch in The Wall Street Journal. Each place is grappling with its own post-recession reality, but a theme emerges: “Certain bedrock virtues—thrift, faith, community, hard work—are enjoying a renaissance.” Americans, this book finds, are no longer “mindless” consumers. The new paradigm is about “voting for values with our dollars,” and about “debit not credit.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Will growth slow, or is the economy about to fall off a cliff?'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Senate passes FAA bill with new consumer protectionsSpeed Read The legislation will require airlines to refund customers for flight delays
-
Trump pledged pro-oil policy to CEOs, asked for $1BSpeed Read The former president promised to reverse Biden's environmental regulations if elected
