Why do we acquire the things we do? Behind this apparently ingenuous question are several answers, some straightforward and others more interesting. To feed ourselves, might be the first response, for we can easily see that we expend much energy in the quest for food. Clothing and shelter as well would seem to constitute our basic needs. Yet we quickly see that even in the Garden of Eden, people want more than they need. This simple impulse has created the ever-mounting abundance we call progress and nearly all of the subsequent trouble on our planet. Four main interwoven themes run through this exploration of material culture and consumption in Latin America over the past five centuries: supply and demand; the relationships between consumption and identity; the importance of ritual, both ancient and modern, in what we buy; and the relationship between colonial and post-colonial power in consumption.

Explores the history of material culture and consumption in Latin America over the past 500 years.
Reviews
"...[a] tantalizing romp through Latin American material culture. This is a superior, sophisticated understanding of Latin America present and past." Bulletin of the Society of Spanish and Portuguese History
"...sweeping yet thoroughly accessible..." Latin American Research Review
"Highly recommended for graduate students and professional in the fields." CHOICE Jan 2002
"Elegantly written and with the vision of a Braudel, Arnold Bauer's survey of material culture from pre-Hispanic times to the global era provides an ideal starting point for such an undertaking... This delightfully accessible book would make an excellent supplement text for Latin American survey courses." Jeffrey M. Pilcher, The Americas
"Goods, Power, History will be recognized as a valuable work that presents an ambitious framework for interpreting Latin America's past." Hispanic American Historical Review
"... the book is informative, accessible, and lively." Historian
"You are what you eat, or wear, or better yet, what you eat and wear, as well as where you live. So Bauer reminds us in this engaging and graceful treatment of five centuries of material life in Latin America." Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"The scope of Goods, Power, History is ambitious. Bauer has forged an admirably readable narrative that is both broad in its findings about the relation between material life and power and attentive to diverse local histories of the Americas." Business History Review
"This is a tremendously entertaining yet knowledgeable interpretation of Latin American history viewed through the lens of material culture.... This is a stimulating volume that will be appreciated by students of Latin America and nonspecialists alike.... Its broad scope and fluid prose, supported by an excellent choice of high-quality and varied images, will make this a well-regarded teaching tool and reference work." American Historical Reivew
"Arnold Bauer offers us a beautifully composed and sweeping overview of the past thousand years of Latin American history, the present included, from the vantage of its "material culture." Goods, Power, History is that rare synthesis that offers a new worldview for its readers. Readers from all corners of the planet will be dazzled by Bauer's evocative details and his craft with the English language, which reveals passions rarely seen in run-of-the-mill academic texts." Journal of World History, Paul Gootenberg, Stony Brook University



Book Information
ISBN 9780521777025
Author Arnold J. Bauer
Format Paperback
Page Count 268
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 364g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 153mm * 21mm