Spending Spree: The History of American Shopping

Bix, Cynthia Overbeck

ISBN 10: 1467710172 ISBN 13: 9781467710176

Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books, 2013

Synopsis

Ka-ching! Ever stop to think how our modern-day shopping culture came to be? In the early 1800s, stores were few and far between in the United States. General stores supplied everything from fabric and flour to handsaws and clocks. As the country grew, mail-order catalogs arrived at homes across the country, Mom and Pop specialty shops sprang up along Main Street, and later, shopping malls and big box megastores thrived in the suburbs. Then online shopping arrived via the Internet and changed the consumer experience yet again!

Buying behaviors also changed over time. For example, did you know you could barter for a pound of sugar at a general store in the early 1800s? Or that department stores in the 1900s added restrooms and ladies lounges to encourage women to shop all day long? Or that online shopping in the twenty-first century is a multibillion-dollar industry? Spending Spree takes readers on an amazing journey from farmlands to cyberspace to learn about the evolution of shopping in the United States.

About this title

About the Author

Cynthia Bix grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where family visits to historical sites that dot the East Coast―including Old Sturbridge Village, Colonial Williamsburg, and Baltimore's own Fort McHenry―sparked her early interest in American history, crafts, and everyday life. After moving as a teenager to the San Francisco Bay Area, she added natural science―the world of plants, animals, and the environment―to her interests.

She has been an avid reader ever since first grade, and there's always a stack of novels on her nightstand. (Sometimes she even sneaks in a reading session when she should be cooking dinner!)

Cynthia loves to write about anything and everything. In her more than 30 nonfiction books for children and adults, she has written about such diverse subjects as carnivorous plants, the water cycle, flower gardens, and the Grand Canyon. She has also written how-to-do-it books about activities from planning a backyard cottage to making impressions of animal footprints!

In addition to writing books and articles, Cynthia edits books for both children and adults.

Review

"In this modern world of conspicuous consumption, mega-malls, and shopping apps, it is hard to imagine a time when families traveled for days to purchase sacks of sugar and flour and maybe a few pieces of penny candy from a general store. This title gives historical perspective and background on shopping and explains how it moved from mere necessity to a status-generating social activity. The book is divided into chronological chapters, beginning with the bartering system used by Native Americans and ending with online shopping and trendy pop-up stores. Average-quality vintage photographs and catalog pages are included throughout, along with quotes from literature and famous people, among them, Snooki. The serviceable text is not likely to grab browsers, but for report writers, there are plenty of facts and interesting tidbits." ―School Library Journal

(Journal)

"This informative book surveys the history of retail trade in America from the colonial period through the global e-commerce of the twenty-first century. After describing early America as a largely rural society where most people raised their own food, made their own clothes, and 'could count their manufactured possessions on the fingers of two hands,' Bix profiles the changes brought by rail transportation, manufactured household goods, advertising, mail-order catalogs, department stores, grocery and discount stores, shopping malls, cybershopping, and other retail trends. Sidebars highlight topics such as the origin of credit cards and the rise of infomercials. Tracing the social and economic changes that led the American population from self-sufficiency to recreational shopping, the text is interesting and very readable. The well captioned, black-and-white illustrations are mainly archival photos. Green highlights provide the only color. In this useful, historical presentation, Bix offers a good deal of information in an accessible way." ―Booklist

(Journal)

Edition details

• Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1467710172
• ISBN 13: 9781467710176
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 88