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On Luxury: A Cautionary Tale: a Short History of the Perils of Excess from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the Modern Era
William Howard Adams
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Description for On Luxury: A Cautionary Tale: a Short History of the Perils of Excess from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the Modern Era
Hardback. The Western world is fascinated by the new, the luxurious and the expensive. We are exposed on a daily basis to fresh ideas and innovations that feed what has become a constant hunger for the latest trends. This desire is not a new one - since Ancient Times man has sought to surround himself with symbols of power and wealth. Num Pages: 228 pages. BIC Classification: KCB. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 228 x 160 x 23. Weight in Grams: 498.
Diamond-encrusted, alligator-skin handbags. Eighteen-course feasts. Yachts the length of city blocks. In the twenty-first century, many point to such conspicuous consumption as reflecting the moral failings of a rampant capitalism that sacrifices community values on an altar of greed. Television shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians illustrate the folly of wealth without responsibility even as they elevate their subjects on pedestals of desire. Our discomfort with extravagance is not new. The ancient Greeks and Romans fretted over the ideal relationship between morality and luxury. Politics, religion, and economics influenced the debate, with the concept of luxury as a ... Read more
Diamond-encrusted, alligator-skin handbags. Eighteen-course feasts. Yachts the length of city blocks. In the twenty-first century, many point to such conspicuous consumption as reflecting the moral failings of a rampant capitalism that sacrifices community values on an altar of greed. Television shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians illustrate the folly of wealth without responsibility even as they elevate their subjects on pedestals of desire. Our discomfort with extravagance is not new. The ancient Greeks and Romans fretted over the ideal relationship between morality and luxury. Politics, religion, and economics influenced the debate, with the concept of luxury as a ... Read more
Product Details
Format
Hardback
Publication date
2012
Publisher
Potomac Books Inc United States
Number of pages
220
Condition
New
Number of Pages
228
Place of Publication
Dulles, United States
ISBN
9781612344171
SKU
V9781612344171
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1
About William Howard Adams
William Howard Adams, an independent scholar, lives and writes at his farm in the Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia. His books include Nature Perfected: Gardens through History, The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson and Gouverneur Morris: An Independent Life. He was curator of the National Gallery of Art’s landmark exhibition “The Eye of Thomas Jefferson” and the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition “Roberto Burle ... Read more
Reviews for On Luxury: A Cautionary Tale: a Short History of the Perils of Excess from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the Modern Era
“In On Luxury, William Howard Adams gives us the most comprehensive and accessible history to date of luxury and Western culture’s ongoing engagement of it. Together, his conversational style and impeccable scholarship make this volume a treasure for every thinking American.”—Phyllis Tickle, author of Greed: The Seven Deadly Sins “Some today lust for luxury. Others snicker at it. In a ... Read more