Inventing the American Dream [antikvár]

The American Dream has come to be widely conceived of as one nation's ambitious search for the perfect lifestyle: a search that embraces car, house and family. Anything but 'dreamlike', it is made up of real and substantial inventions that have had an enormous impact on all areas of American life. Whether considering the well-known and successful products which we all associate with the typical and pleasure-filled American lifestyle--popcorn, drive-in movies, sneakers--or the more obscure inventions such as the self-cleaning house, this book covers inventions from every facet of life, from food to fashion and entertainment. Necessarily, the overwhelming nature of this drive for commercial and consumerist perfection has a dark side, and this is approached alongside more light-hearted anecdotes. "Inventing the American Dream is a must for social historians and trivia-lovers everywhere, and will be invaluable source material for school and college projects. It is also the perfect read for anyone who has ever wondered whether the inventor of a product isn't also re-inventing the attitudes and lifestyle of the end-user.