Standard of Living: The Measure of the Middle Class in Modern America - Tapa blanda

Acerca del autor

Marina Moskowitz is a reader in history and American Studies at the University of Glasgow.

De la contraportada

Coined in 1902, the term "standard of living" grew popular in early twentieth-century America. Though its exact definition remained ambiguous, it most often reflected the middle class and its material comfort. The term was not a precise measure of how people lived, but instead embodied the ideal of how middle-class Americans wanted to live. In Standard of Living, Marina Moskowitz explores what material and social components constituted this standard, and who decided what they were and how they were to be promoted.

"Refusing to recognize boundaries between social science and the novel, this innovative history rejects divisions between cultural and business history. Marina Moskowitz probes the 'standard of living' as a liminal aspiration between production and consumption that defined the American 'middle class' through the objects and spaces of the home in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."—Journal of American History

"Moskowitz offers important insights into the development of American middle-class ideals of material comfort, and of an emerging shared national culture."—History

"At first glance, a study that offers in-depth case studies of such items as flatware and zoning plans might not sound like an energizing pageturner. However, Marina Moskowitz's book is both of these things and more. Moskowitz uses the stories of everyday items to craft a persuasive case for the emergence of a new, national standard of living in late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century America."—Business History Review

"A compelling argument for the complexity and pervasiveness of a shared fascination with a standard of living."—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"Well-researched, well-written, and convincing... Will certainly influence future discussion of the expansion of the middle class and the consumer culture of the early twentieth century."—Journal of Social History

"In this well-researched monograph, Marina Moskowitz traces the evolution of the American concept of the standard of living from 1870 to the 1920s through fascinating case studies on silverplate flatware, bathroom fixtures, mail-order homes, and zoning plans."—American Historical Review

Marina Moskowitz is a reader in history and American Studies at the University of Glasgow.

De la solapa interior

Coined in 1902, the term standard of living grew popular in early twentieth-century America. Though its exact definition remained ambiguous, it most often reflected the middle class and its material comfort. The term was not a precise measure of how people lived, but instead embodied the ideal of how middle-class Americans wanted to live. In Standard of Living, Marina Moskowitz explores what material and social components constituted this standard, and who decided what they were and how they were to be promoted.

Refusing to recognize boundaries between social science and the novel, this innovative history rejects divisions between cultural and business history. Marina Moskowitz probes the 'standard of living' as a liminal aspiration between production and consumption that defined the American 'middle class' through the objects and spaces of the home in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.--Journal of American History

Moskowitz offers important insights into the development of American middle-class ideals of material comfort, and of an emerging shared national culture.--History

At first glance, a study that offers in-depth case studies of such items as flatware and zoning plans might not sound like an energizing pageturner. However, Marina Moskowitz's book is both of these things and more. Moskowitz uses the stories of everyday items to craft a persuasive case for the emergence of a new, national standard of living in late nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century America.--Business History Review

A compelling argument for the complexity and pervasiveness of a shared fascination with a standard of living.--Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Well-researched, well-written, and convincing . . . Will certainly influence future discussion of the expansion of the middle class and the consumer culture of the early twentieth century.--Journal of Social History

In this well-researched monograph, Marina Moskowitz traces the evolution of the American concept of the standard of living from 1870 to the 1920s through fascinating case studies on silverplate flatware, bathroom fixtures, mail-order homes, and zoning plans.--American Historical Review

Marina Moskowitz is a reader in history and American Studies at the University of Glasgow.