The book I have chosen for my review is Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic (2001) by John de Graaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ppGqijWQ-4AC&dq=affluenza:+the+all+consuming+epidemic&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=H0_u0wQ7wI&sig=wmm2aIKRwAX1IL3DrqjX-Bb6-wA&hl=en&ei=HnzYSrmnFpOJ4QbUlpX1Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false
The first thing that drew me to this book was the title - it instantly drew me in and gave the impression that it would be an entertaining read, which it certainly has been so far.
Basically its a dumbed down, exaggerated and very North-American-Centric take on over consumption, much like the Story of Stuff. A highly readable idiot's guide. Hence why I am reading it.
But my main reason for choosing this book stems from my personal interest in the communication of environmental issues to the general public. Therefore, I am particularly fascinated by the use of rhetoric and hyperbole, and how this might influence the actions of the reader. The more I read, the more I notice a trade-off between verifiable and rigorous (boring) science and tangible, exaggerated examples (interesting but highly contestable)...
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Great choice, Ben, and I'll be really interested to learn how you think the 'sensationalism' affects your reading - do you think the book loses credibility in its efforts to be readable and interesting to non-scientists?
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