The last decade has witnessed a clear and steady rise of interest in consumer culture. Many commentators now argue that consumption rather than production is the axis of personal identity and meaningful social action - a standpoint that reverses the traditional view that consumption is an incidental, trivial feature in contemporary culture.

This shrewd and probing book seeks to theorize shopping as an autonomous realm. It avoids the reductionist characteristics of economics and marketing. At the same time it avoids the moralizing tone of many contemporary discussions of shopping and consumption. The book uses an interdisciplinary resource base and comparative data to build-up a convincing analysis of the meaning of shopping

What happens to a person when she or he wins an enormous amount of money? One widespread belief is that hitting the jackpot kick-starts a downward spiral, and that winners end up isolated from friends and relatives, sad, lonely, and, in some scenarios, even taking their own lives. Is there any truth to this, or is this a myth perpetuated by those 'normal folks' whose winnings are rather less? Either way, winning a lottery jackpot can be perceived as a sort of laboratory experiment that reveals what happens when it suddenly becomes possible to make 'all' one's dreams come true.Beginning with people's personal aspirations and hopes of winning, this engrossing book discusses the 'fates' of lottery millionaires and, more broadly, what these say about Western culture. The issue is really not winning, but the relationship between people's dream worlds and reality. Winners talk about the instant ecstasy of winning, taking possession of the money, future plans and raising children. How do winners tame the jackpot? Who do they share the secret with? Do they resign from work? Do they travel around the world? What do they buy and what not? The unexpected lottery win signifies a crisis, a break in the continuance of life, a need to take control of one's life as a lottery winner. This book provides a uniquely revealing window through which to examine how personal behaviour, patterns of consumption and relationships withstand or succumb to the pressures of a pivotal, purportedly felicitous, life event.

What happens to a person when she or he wins an enormous amount of money? One widespread belief is that hitting the jackpot kick-starts a downward spiral, and that winners end up isolated from friends and relatives, sad, lonely, and, in some scenarios, even taking their own lives. Is there any truth to this, or is this a myth perpetuated by those 'normal folks' whose winnings are rather less? Either way, winning a lottery jackpot can be perceived as a sort of laboratory experiment that reveals what happens when it suddenly becomes possible to make 'all' one's dreams come true.Beginning with people's personal aspirations and hopes of winning, this engrossing book discusses the 'fates' of lottery millionaires and, more broadly, what these say about Western culture. The issue is really not winning, but the relationship between people's dream worlds and reality. Winners talk about the instant ecstasy of winning, taking possession of the money, future plans and raising children. How do winners tame the jackpot? Who do they share the secret with? Do they resign from work? Do they travel around the world? What do they buy and what not? The unexpected lottery win signifies a crisis, a break in the continuance of life, a need to take control of one's life as a lottery winner. This book provides a uniquely revealing window through which to examine how personal behaviour, patterns of consumption and relationships withstand or succumb to the pressures of a pivotal, purportedly felicitous, life event.

This is a fascinating examination of the relationship between consumption, the idea of the body and the formation of the self. In tracing these connections, The Consuming Body develops a profile of individuality in the late twentieth century - in both its bodily and mental aspects. Pasi Falk offers a major synthesis and critical assessment of the debates surrounding the body, the self and contemporary consumer culture. He explores two fundamental issues for modern social theory - the delineation of modern consumption and the body's historically changing position in various cultural orders. In the course of his argument he examines both metaphors of consumption and investigates the issues of representation in advertising and pornography.

The last decade has witnessed a clear and steady rise of interest in consumer culture. Many commentators now argue that consumption rather than production is the axis of personal identity and meaningful social action - a standpoint that reverses the traditional view that consumption is an incidental, trivial feature in contemporary culture.

This shrewd and probing book seeks to theorize shopping as an autonomous realm. It avoids the reductionist characteristics of economics and marketing. At the same time it avoids the moralizing tone of many contemporary discussions of shopping and consumption. The book uses an interdisciplinary resource base and comparative data to build-up a convincing analysis of the meaning of shopping