Books about Disenchanted from Amazon.com

Maybe you're in sales...or marketing ..or communications? Maybe you're a writer. Maybe you're even a CEO. Whatever your title, you're one of the hundreds of thousands of professionals who communicate for a living-and you're struggling to get your message heard in a noisy and crowded marketplace.
Yes, you know what you want to say and who you want to reach. No, you don't have writer's block and you certainly know how to construct a sentence. So what's the problem?
The audience you're writing for is going, going, gone... Today's consumer doesn't want to read anymore-they're already overwhelmed by overflowing e-mail, millions of Web pages, and 24/7 news proliferation.
Your Attention, Please. is the new strategy guide for communicating to the reluctant consumer. It shows you who the new audience is, how to reach them, and how you must communicate differently-or risk losing mindshare and marketshare..
Price: $4.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The story of the development of artificial light in the 19th century is not only a history of its technology but a revelation of how that technology helped forge modern consciousness. The range of subjects includes the political symbolism of streetlamps, the rise of nightlife and the shop window, and the importance of the salon in the bourgeois culture. Very Highly Recommended..
Price: $13.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"I like the fact that the book is relatively even-handed - appreciating spectacle even while forcing students to question critically the effects of consumption in their lives and those of their fellow citizens."

-Gary Alan Fine, Northwestern University

"Enchanting a Disenchanted World is a tour de force. Drawing upon a rich array of examples, George Ritzer provides an original and insightful analysis of the new means of consumption and how they are transforming our lives. . . . Analytically crisp, jargon free, and packed with fresh illustrations, Enchanting a Disenchanted World is equally effective as an engaging read for specialists and a lucid text for classroom use. Highly recommended to scholars and students."

-Kevin Fox Gotham, Tulane University

"I think this is a great book! I have enjoyed working with it, and so have my students. . . . I especially like the chapters that deal with social theory. These chapters are very effective in presenting social theory to students, as they contain very clear and straightforward explanations of the ideas of otherwise very complex and difficult social theorists."

-Ann Branaman, Florida Atlantic University

Megamalls. Restaurant chains. Elaborate casinos. Deluxe cruise ships. Enormous theme parks. Everywhere we turn, there is a new place being constructed in which to spend money. The Second Edition of Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption examines the development of these settings, and many others like them, in the last half century.

Author George Ritzer takes a look at how a revolutionary change has occurred in the places in which we consume goods and services, and how it has a profound effect not only on the nature of consumption but also on social life. In the process of taking capitalism to a new level, we have created new "cathedrals of consumption"-locales to which we make pilgrimages in order to practice our consumer religion. The book offers rich detail on consuming in places such as Las Vegas, Disney World, cruise ships, Wal-Mart, and McDonald’s-all competing to outdo one another to see which one can put on the greatest show and lure the most consumers.

Enchanting a Disenchanted World is a unique analysis of the world of consumption, examining how we are different consumers now than we were in the past, both in the U.S. and around the world. In the process of understanding this social development, a wide range of theoretical perspectives including Marxian, Weberian, critical theory, and postmodern theory are applied. The book also looks at concepts such as hyperconsumption, implosion, time and space, and simulation.

New to the Second Edition:

• A new Chapter 7 has been added discussing "landscapes of consumption," or locales that encompass two or more cathedrals of consumption, giving a broader geographic context to examine the changes in consumption settings, their impact on the lure of consumption, and the pressure to consume.
• A new section has been added to Chapter 3, devoted to the historical importance of the early Parisian arcades and to the thinking of the important social theorist, Walter Benjamin, on these sites.
• The book has been thoroughly revised and updated and discusses the new big players among the cathedrals of consumption, including Disney’s upcoming theme park in Hong Kong, the new Queen Mary II, the soon-to-be completed casino resort Wynn Las Vegas, and many more.

Enchanting a Disenchanted World connects the everyday world in a sociological and theoretical way, making it an ideal text for a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses including introductory sociology, sociology of consumption , social change, popular culture, sociology of leisure, social theory, and economic sociology. The book will also be of value to anyone interested in exploring a sociological analysis of the world’s changing and expanding patterns and places of consumption.

(20040507).
Price: $20.28 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Dennis Kux's book possesses a wealth of new information, based partly on fresh research in published and archival sources, but based even more impressively on the more than 100 personal interviews he conducted with former diplomats and defense officials in both the United States and Pakistan."--Robert J. McMahon, University of Florida

"Kux's study is, to my knowledge, the first full-dress, comprehensive, and authoritative study of U.S.-Pakistan relations. Focused primarily on formal diplomacy between these two countries, it systematically chronicles the major events, deftly handles the primary issues, and sympathetically considers the key political and diplomatic figures on both sides."--Robert Wirsing, University of South Carolina

U.S.-Pakistan relations have been extraordinarily volatile, largely a function of the twists and turns of the Cold War. An intimate partnership prevailed in the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan years, and friction during the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter presidencies. Since the Cold War ended, the partnership has shriveled. The blunt talking to delivered by President Clinton to Pakistan's military dictator during Clinton's March 25, 2000, stopover in Pakistan highlighted U.S.-Pakistani differences. But the Clinton visit also underscored important U.S. interests in Pakistan.

The first comprehensive account of this roller coaster relationship, this book is a companion volume to Kux's Estranged Democracies, recently called "the definitive history of Pakistani-American relations" in the New York Times.

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Price: $22.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

CASE FILE #1:

Regina St. Lyon's powers have been waning. Maybe she did betray love, but what else could a duped girl do? At the time, banishing hotter-than-thou Brock Aegis to the Middle Realm seemed like a good idea. But now Brock is back….

CASE FILE #2:

Benedict DeWin is practically wizard royalty— and as magically gifted as a stale loaf of bread. But then he meets Bryony Flynn, another magical "failure"- whose only gift is to make certain things grow. Not that Benedict is complaining…

CASE FILE #3:

Born to a family of seers and shamans, Siobhan Silverhawk has accepted her magicless lifestyle. But when she meets recent widower J. B. Pendleton, Siobhan figures she has magic enough to make a love potion—which seems to have worked a little too well!

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Price: $0.01 [Notify me when price goes down.]

I may be in the middle of nowhere,

but I still have standards!

Like it's not bad enough Daddy's in jail for embezzlement (he's a super-successful Hollywood agent, btw, and totally innocent), but since my fashion-model mom died when I was a baby (I'm sure you've seen the E! True Hollywood Story) I've been shipped off to Possum Grape, Arkansas, to live with relatives I've never even met. You read that right: Possum. Grape. Not only is there no Starbucks in this town, but I'm sharing a room with a six-year-old and I'm about to miss the biggest social event of the year back in L.A.

I'm not sure how yet, but I will get back to civilization. Until then, I may be stuck on a farm, but no one's gonna keep me from ruling the roost!

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Price: $2.93 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From Thoreau's classic essay On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (reprinted in its entirety) to contemporary direct-action tactics used by the Ruckus Society and other nonviolent groups, this handbook outlines a brief history of social protest and provides information and resources for individuals interested in continuing the tradition. Advice on everything from being arrested to defending women's health clinics is included..
Price: $5.34 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This is a revised and updated edition of Ronald Fernandez's acclaimed study of the Puerto Rico-United States relationship. Tracing that relationship from the early years of the 20th century through to the present, Fernandez provides a comprehensive analysis of political, economic, and military affairs as they relate to Puerto Rico. The new edition is completely up-to-date through 1995 and includes important new material based upon documents found in the Reagan presidential library, as well as newly declassified documents in the Eisenhower library..
Price: $38.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]