Global Issues / Local Impact Book Discussion: Affluenza by John DeGraaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor

A  book discussion featuring current topics and issues, sponsored by Howe Library and the League of Women Voters of the Upper Valley

Book for discussion: Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John DeGraaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor.

Marjorie Rose (Dartmouth Economics Department) will moderate the discussion.

About the book:
De Graaf, producer of the PBS documentaries Affluenza (1996) and Escape from Affluenza (1998); David Wann, a former EPA staffer and expert on sustainable lifestyles; and Thomas H. Naylor, professor emeritus in economics at Duke, have assembled an updated and more in-depth look at the epidemic of overconsumption sweeping the United States and the rest of the world, based on de Graaf's documentaries. They define "affluenza" as "a painful, contagious, socially-transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more" and examine the spiraling cycle of overconsumption, spending, stress, and broken relationships caused by America's obsession with uncontrolled economic growth at any cost. This witty yet hard-hitting book provides evidence of the social problems caused by the American obsession with acquiring "stuff" and proposes solutions for living more sustainably. Library Journal

Copies of the book will be available to check out prior to the discussion. Suggestions for further reading on the topic will be provided. The program is open to the public and is sponsored by Howe Library and the League of Women Voters of the Upper Valley.

Date: March 24, 2010
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Location: Rotary Room