Rating: 
Summary: A Spark for Social Reform
Review: The purpose of this book is to heighten awareness about consumerism and ultimately bring about dramatic change in our society. The audience is primarily Americans, though the book has been well received in several foreign countries. De Graaf and his associates present powerful evidence from a wide collection of sources. Their argument is persuasive and well documented. They address environmental, social, financial, spiritual, physical and mental indicators of health in our society. Affluenza has made me more aware of how I spend my money, time and intellectual effort by highlighting some of our societies weaknesses. I enjoyed reading the book because it made me question some of my practices. The authors throw down the gauntlet by challenging many "American principles." Overall, the argument is sound and effective, if a bit dramatic at times. A copy of should come free with every new BMW, satellite TV dish and MBA degree. America needs it.
Rating: 
Summary: What does it profit a man to gain the world ?
Review: Did you know that American's use more than their fair share of the world's resources? That the eat an unhealthy diet? That they drive big gas-guzzling cars? Oh you did? Well, then you might be able to skip this 270-page tome on the evils of the modern world. The cover was striking, the book jacket promised more about the ills of the modern wold than I could dream of finding. But the book seemed to ramble on without providing much in the way of help for us to break the shackles of the dreaded affluenza and move up to the next level of enlightenment. I found the name affluenza and the idea of it being a 'disease' was cute. At First. That wore out pretty quick for me though. But not for the authors who carry the pun until the dreaded device is as fun as nails on a blackboard. The book had topics that spoke about people who quit or were laid off from high-paying jobs and suddenly found happiness when they made 1/3 or their old salary. It spoke of the joys that people who never spend more that 8,000 year had in comparison to corporate CEO's. The book stops well short of explaining how we can do this in our own lives other than recommending websites and additional books to buy. I just didn't come away from this book with any great compelling 'must have' knowledge that I think will change the world. I know that an SUV takes more gas than a Honda Civic. I know that there is a wide disparity between the rich and the poor and that it is only getting wider. I think that most people who would be tempted to read this book know that too. I suppose that this was what I disliked about the book. There was a mish-mashed collection of facts without any hope or plan to alleviate the problem. There was too much clowning around for the book to be a warning of things to come and way too little advice for it to be useful in my daily life.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: This book reads like a publication of environmental extremists...yet is admittedly thought provoking. I consider myself environmentally "aware" and willing to do my part to help support the ideal of a self-sustainable society. But this book may cause non-radicals to scoff from the exaggerated statistics, poorly supported claims of impending disaster, and contrived connections between our consumption oriented society and a sinister, contagious, all but lethal virus. I did appreciate the social/economic value statement that this book succeeds in stressing. It is all right to live humbly and simply and with thought for our neighbors, whether they live next door or on the other side of the world. They state that the media and business have managed to create a standard of living that strays from the things in life that truly give satisfaction. It is a standard of living measured by the ability to consume more and more products. This book at times idolizes certain individuals that have given up the "rat race" of professional careers for a simpler life of social activism and composting. Making money isn't bad in itself. Finding one's talent and being compensated well for it should remain an ideal. The key lies in finding the balance between consumption and contribution.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Sure, Affluenza is a polemic, but it's a powerful one. Sure, some of the book's more startling factual assertions are, on closer examination, somewhat distorted. But this is a call to arms, not a scholarly dissection. By depicting our consumer culture as a deadly epidemic, the authors provide a metaphor that simply and intuitively captures the fears and concerns of millions of people worldwide. While some conservative readers might scoff at a book that breathlessly states that life was better before the industrial revolution, we from getAbstract recommend this book as a valuable peek into the intellectual world of the anti-globalization left.
Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading in every high school in America!!
Review: As a high school teacher, I am daily amazed (and disgusted) at the materialism that our young people see as their inherent right - the nicest of everything regardless of the cost. Obviously, many adults are just as blind as our young people, which is why we need to get them while they're young. I can see myself using this book in my classes and hopefully making a few people think about the causes and effects of our world. I'm sure many teens (most of whom avoid books like kryptonite) would actually be enthralled to learn what goes on behind the political rhetoric and slick ads they are bombarded with. It mystifies me why this book is currently NOT available here. If there's a timelier book that people should be able to access, it's this one!
Rating:
Summary: Materialism is bad. So is villainizing America.....
Review: Affluenza is defined on the back cover of this book as "n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. When I first read this definition, I cheered such a brilliant diagnosis of our culture. However, the overall tone of this book moves beyond the inspirational to scare tactics which is a shame. An extremist perspective of America taints the overall theme of the book and hinders the author's rationale. Had this not been prevalent, the book would get an easy A+ from me. Frightening statistics are spewed in the readers face and, though hilarious in places, a very dark portrait of the average American is mercilessly painted. As an American, I, for one, am tired of this approach. What rants such as these tend to leave out are the incredible improvements that we have made as a culture in the last 100 years. A prime example is the respect for the environment. First Lady Bird Johnson introduced a radical new idea fifty years ago - trash cans. Books like Affluenza forget to tell you that NO ONE put trash in a can fifty years ago - they threw it into the median on the road from their moving vehicles. There was no grass - no wildflowers, just piles of broken bottles, old tires, paper bags, magazines, you name it, piled high between every stretch of highway from the east to west coast. Our children now know what flowers and grass look like. Landscaping is the new hobby in America and Americans are caring for their yards and creating gardens like never before. And as for charity and community involvement, just last year a study on CNN showed that more young people are involved in community service than they have been in decades. On top of that, they are one of the most spiritually aware generations of our century. They have grown up with more respect for all peoples than any other group of people in our world's history and have proven it by living what we dreamers have idealized for years. Affluenza is definitely an issue in our country - but it is not purely American. Anyone who has studied history for ten minutes can tell you that it is a human pattern in any society that prospers. For those that think America is the most materialist and wasteful culture that ever lived, read about Rome, Nazi Germany, Victorian England, Ancient Persia and Egypt, and many more whose atrocities have surpassed us by light years. Affluenza is not limited to Americans. And for those who consider people who throw away a soda can as being worse than those modern countries who throw away their children for not being anatomically correct, I have to say that their philosophies concerning the good life are skewered. Materialism is dangerous - as is anything that humans maniacally clutch in order to fill a spiritual void. But we shouldn't let a good point be turned into another effort to portray this miraculous country as a dark, predatory monster. Authors and sociological commentators should beware of sounding like a parent who is unhappy with their child no matter how far they progress or improve. America is certainly not perfect - I mean, people live here. Wherever people live flaws and disputes will exist. But we should not forget in our attempts to better ourselves and our planet how far we have already come. Read Affluenza. There is wisdom here to be absorbed. But be cautious of extreme views that leave one twice as depressed as credit card debt. Remember, Affluenza is a HUMAN symptom not just an AMERICAN one - and its' as old as the sun. And, in the spirit of the book - save a tree. Go find it at your local library or borrow a copy from a friend.
Rating:
Summary: More Means Less
Review: As the authors of this book make ever so clear, Americans work more, produce more waste, buy more, feel depressed more (take therefore take more anti-depressants), commit more suicide, produce more GDP, have more economic inequality, visit the mall more, have more credit card debt, file more bankruptcy, build more houses, drive more (and bigger) cars, crash those cars more often, sleep less, take more partners (more often), subdue more children with more ads and more violence (and therefore have more violent, brand-loyal children), eat more (and are thus more fat), vote less, join fewer organizations, volunteer less, have more prisons (and more prisoners), produce more cancer-causing agents, air pollution, and water pollution, burn more oil, waste more water, and have more brain, liver, breast, kidney, prostate, esophagus, skin, bone and lymph cancer THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. We suffer from increasing rates of all kinds of diseases, both old and new. The average American hosts up to 500 different chemicals in his or her body - a figure that is going up as more trace amounts of pain relievers, more antibiotics, more birth control pills, more perfumes, more codeine, more antacids, more cholesterol-lowering agents, more antidepressants, more estrogen replacement drugs, more chemotherapy agents, more sunscreen lotion, more hormones from feed lots, more pesticides, more herbicides and more fungicides make their way into our drinking water, air and food at ever-increasing levels. We are literally choking and poisoning ourselves to death with our own affluence. Perhaps worst of all, spiritual sickness is sweeping across the country. More people feel "empty" than ever before. Fewer people are contentment with their work. Fourteen million Americans use illegal drugs, twelve million are heavy drinkers, and sixty million are hooked on tobacco. Five million Americans cannot stop gambling away their income and savings - while, at the shopping malls, compulsive buyers often report a feeling of heightened sensations, or a heightened sense of awareness. "Colors and textures are more intense, and extreme levels of focus and concentration are often achieve - literally, altered states of consciousness. Some extreme shoppers compare their highs to drug experiences, while others have compared the moment of purchase to an orgasm." Largely because of the American lifestyle (and those who mimic it), the world is on the brink of collapse. Few of us realize this, and those who see the writing on the wall often find it easier to live in denial than attempt to change. A quarter of the world's plants are threatened with extinction by the year 2010. More than 38 percent of U.S. amphibians are endangered. Three-quarters of all bird species are declining in numbers. One-third of the North American freshwater fish are rare or endangered. About 100 invertebrate species are lost each day due to deforestation (many from urban sprawl). 25 percent of all mammal species are threatened with extinction. In other words, because of the emerging global economy and personal consumption habits, we are losing species from at a rate 1000 times faster than the natural rate of planetary evolution. "What can I do, though?" we say. "After all, I am just an individual." The fact is, it is all of us individuals together that are causing the calamity. Affluenza is does not just outline the disturbing facts we all should know, it also outlines a clear plan for change, from "downshifting" and the simplicity movement to overt political strategies. It offers sustainable lifestyle changes as well as political action. The authors genuinely want people to be happy, healthy, and free, and they offer suggestions on how to accomplish that. They note that people are genuinely satisfied when their work is fulfilling. People also seem to be satisfied when they are out in nature. Today we are both working less fulfilling jobs and seeing less of nature. Neither these, nor any of the other problems mentioned, are beyond solution. The book reaffirms the idea that by simplifying our lives and pursuing that which genuinely matters in life, we can not only find spiritual satisfaction, but also mitigate the massive ecocide that is now taking place on this planet. Affluenza provides nothing less than the solution for both our personal and social problems. I highly recommend giving it a go. Would have posted 100 stars if possible.
Rating:
Summary: Another lens through which to view late capitalism
Review: We have seen and heard these scenarios before, whether couched in historical, sociological, ethical, or religious terms. This particular version of the story is well-researched and there is no particular problem with the thesis. That being said, using the term "epidemic" implies -- just as it does with the so-called "obesity epidemic" -- that the problem will circulate through the system and then go away. Framing it that way is too optimistic, for the roots run much deeper than the epidemic metaphor suggests. Worth the facts, but create your own schema if you want it to serve as the basis for action.
Rating:
Summary: More is Less Than Less, It's Planetary and Spiritual Suicide
Review: Americans work more, produce more waste, buy more, feel depressed more (take therefore take more anti-depressants), commit more suicide, produce more GDP, have more economic inequality, visit the mall more, have more credit card debt, file more bankruptcy, build more houses, drive more (and bigger) cars, crash those cars more often, sleep less, take more partners (more often), subdue more children with more ads and more violence (and therefore have more violent, subdued and brand-loyal children), eat more (and are thus more fat), vote less, join fewer organizations, volunteer less, have more prisons (and more prisoners), produce more cancer-causing agents, air pollution, and water pollution, burn more oil, waste more water, and have more brain, liver, breast, kidney, prostate, esophagus, skin, bone and lymph cancer THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. We suffer from increasing rates of all kinds of diseases, both old and new. The average American hosts up to 500 different chemicals in his or her body - a figure that is going up as more trace amounts of pain relievers, more antibiotics, more birth control pills, more perfumes, more codeine, more antacids, more cholesterol-lowering agents, more antidepressants, more estrogen replacement drugs, more chemotherapy agents, more sunscreen lotion, more hormones from feed lots, more pesticides, more herbicides and more fungicides make their way into our drinking water, air and food at ever-increasing levels. We are literally choking and poisoning ourselves to death with our own affluence. Perhaps worst of all, spiritual sickness is sweeping across the country. More people feel "empty" than ever before. Fewer people are contentment with their work. Fourteen million Americans use illegal drugs, twelve million are heavy drinkers, and sixty million are hooked on tobacco. Five million Americans cannot stop gambling away their income and savings - while, at the shopping malls, compulsive buyers often report a feeling of heightened sensations, or a heightened sense of awareness. "Colors and textures are more intense, and extreme levels of focus and concentration are often achieve - literally, altered states of consciousness. Some extreme shoppers compare their highs to drug experiences, while others have compared the moment of purchase to an orgasm." For those who haven't found the junkie on the corner yet, the mall has got your fix. Largely because of the American lifestyle (and those who mimic it), the world is on the brink of collapse. Few of us realize this, and those who see the writing on the wall often find it easier to live in denial than attempt to change. A quarter of the world's plants are threatened with extinction by the year 2010. More than 38 percent of U.S. amphibians are endangered. Three-quarters of all bird species are declining in numbers. One-third of the North American freshwater fish are rare or endangered. About 100 invertebrate species are lost each day due to deforestation (many from urban sprawl). 25 percent of all mammal species are threatened with extinction. In other words, because of the emerging global economy and personal consumption habits, we are losing species from at a rate 1000 times faster than the natural rate of planetary evolution. "What can I do, though?" we say. "After all, I am just an individual." The fact is, it is all of us individuals together that are causing the calamity. And we might just be the next big mammal to go.
Affluenza does not just dump a load of disturbing facts on your head and leave it at that, though. It also outlines a clear plan for change: from "downshifting" and the Voluntary Simplicity Movement to overt political strategies. It offers sustainable lifestyle changes as well as political action. The authors genuinely want people to be happy, healthy, and free, and they offer suggestions on how to accomplish these goals. They note that people are satisfied when their work is fulfilling. People also seem to be satisfied when they are out in nature. Today we are both working less fulfilling jobs and seeing less of nature. Neither these, nor any of the other problems mentioned, are beyond solution however. The book reaffirms the idea that by simplifying our lives and pursuing that which genuinely matters in life, we can not only find spiritual satisfaction, but also mitigate - and hopefully correct - the massive ecocide that is now taking place on this planet. In this book, you find nothing less than the solution for both our personal and social problems. I highly recommend reading it. I would have given it 100 stars if possible. ~A glObal Top 10 Save Self and Planet Book~
Rating:
Summary: Wake Up -- even if you don't want to!
Review: Let's be honest. Most of us would prefer to blame almost anyone else for the planet's problems. Of course we're aware of all the issues and we do our part - recycling or whatever but we don't really do all we could. Reading this book is dangerous to our complacency. We can't really read it without seeing ourselves and wincing. There are so many examples and statistics that everyone will be caught in some way. Most of us have a bit of the Afluenza bug, even if we don't have the full blown disease. What I particually liked is that authors' sly use of humor and cartoons to poke at us. My one suggestion is that they consider the whole issue of how many of us spend so much of our disposable income on services and experiences instead of goods. Perhaps another book?
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