The luxurious appearance and         handsome profits of American department stores from 1890 to 1940 masked         a three-way struggle among saleswomen, managers, and customers for control         of the selling floor. Counter Cultures explores the complex nature         and contradictions of the conflict in an arena where class, gender, and         the emerging culture of consumption all came together.       "Counter Cultures         is a path-breaking and imaginative social history. Benson has made an         original and sophisticated contribution to the study of the work process         in the service sector."         -- Journal of American History       "Counter Cultures         advances our understanding of the history of women and work, and it does         so in an engaging way that should command the attention not only of historians         but of a general readership as well."         -- Women's Review of Books