William R. Leach

Not many will disagree that appearance wise, butterflies are amongst the most beautiful creatures on the planet. But unfortunately, what becomes clear in this book is just how ugly we, as a species can be. I was captivated by the cover of this book and read it hoping to gain a further appreciation for butterflies than I already had. And while I did learn some fascinating facts and and gained some interesting new insights about butterflies, for the most part I was disappointed with this book. show more The book is titled Butterfly People, and thusly and sadly, so much of this book is about the petty infighting, backstabbing, double-crossing, downright malicious, manner in which the leading Lepidopterists of the day treated each other. A book that could have focused on the beauty of butterflies instead turned into treatise on just how ugly homo sapiens can be. show less

For someone who gets Mall Fatigue by the time I park and traverse Macys, I felt the task of completing this to be somewhat arduous. However, for those interested in the rise of US commercialism on the basis not only of the dramatic evolutions within retailing but also in consideration of certain intellectual outpourings and institutional correlations within the decades in question, then you should find this to be a great book. Leach covers the transformation of a show more Mother-stitching-one’s-britches nation into one where department stores sought to coerce consumers into purchasing completely new wardrobes every year. It’s certainly an important history that sheds much light on of the origin of the “shop ‘til you drop” paradigm that defined Generation Me, Generation X, Generation Y, the Millennials, or whatever other dubiously designated groups that have been attacked for lacking the frugality of the previously accused generations. show less

I read this a few years back, but I recall it being fascinating, and it made a deep impression on me. Leach's book is a scholarly and very readable account of a particular period in American history. It traces the early years of modern consumer culture. I guarantee it will change your perception of going to the mall; to this day, whenever I walk into a grand department store, my mind whisper's Leach's words: "colour, glass, and light...."

An interesting exploration of the necessity of a sense of place in human existence. I just wish that the author had gone beyond the general in his descriptions of the implications of a loss of that sense.