De Graaf, John. <br/><br/>
Affluenza :  the all-consuming epidemic / 
John de Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor. 
 - 2nd ed. 
 - San Francisco, CA :  Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc,  c2005. 
 - xxii, 288 p. :  ill. ;  24 cm. 
 - BK currents book. .
<br/><br/> Based in part on the PBS television programs "Affluenza" and "Escape from Affluenza." 
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<br/><br/> Uses the metaphor of a disease to explore how society has been affected by Americans' obsessive quest for material gain.  Affluenza should make us all realise that material possessions are never enough to satisfy spiritual hunger. The authors of Affluenza challenge us to think beyond the superficiality of individual economic demand to the deeper meaning of life." --Bill Bradley, former United States Senator and Presidential Candidate The first edition was a bestseller (more than 75,000 copies sold) that inspired a movement; now heavily revised, the second edition addresses today's "affluenza" with a new urgency, but also hope for recovery. Based on two highly acclaimed PBS documentaries, Affluenza uses the metaphor of a disease to tackle a very serious subject: the damage done to our health, our families, our communities, and our environment, by the obsessive quest for material gain. With a new introduction and updated figures all throughout, this revised edition ups the ante for the continuing war we must wage against consumerism nationwide.  In this indictment of consumerism, de Graaf et al. treat the social problem they call "affluenza" like a disease, discussing symptoms, treatment, and causes for this "painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." Individual, social, and environmental effects, historical causes, and solutions are detailed. The book is based on the TV documentary of the same name that aired in 1997, followed by Escape from Affluenza in 1998. The new edition has been updated and includes a study guide. 
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<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9781576753576 1576753573 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>2005045324 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Quality of life--United States.<br/>Wealth--United States.<br/>Consumption (Economics)--United States.<br/>Quality of life--United States.<br/>Wealth--United States.<br/>Consumption (Economics)--United States.
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>306/.0973