Description: In today's world, making things look good is a growth industry, whether it's sleek leather pants, a shiny new Apple computer, or a toaster. In this penetrating "New York Times" Notable Book, Postrel shows that the allure of "look and feel" is both strong and disquieting.
Brief description:
Virginia Postrel writes an economics column for the New York Times and is the author of The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress. She lives in Dallas, Texas.
Review Quotes:
"A brilliant analysis ... After reading The Substance of Style, the world will literally look different to you." - Steven Pinker, Professor, MIT, and author of How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate
"The Substance of Style does go a long way toward moving beauty out of the welter of political theory and into the realm of cultural reality." - New York Times Book Review
"Provocative. . . demolishes the false dichotomy between substance and style." - Washington Post Book World
"Marvelously informative...Brightly argued...Even when Postrel's examples are familiar, the specifics can be eye-popping....It's groundbreaking." - Atlantic Monthly
"Virginia Postrel . . . writes perceptively about everything on which her penetrating gaze alights." - George F. Will, Washington Post
"A profoundly important book. The topic is absurdly under-studied; and Postrel has turned in a magnificent performance." - Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence
"[Postrel] connects a million seemingly disparate dots into a fresh, clear-eyed, persuasive picture of our culture circa 2003." - Kurt Andersen, author of Turn of the Century
"What a great read! It will heighten your awareness of our newly sculpted aesthetic world." - Karim Rashid, designer
"A work vast in its range, profound in its depth, rich in its detail." - Robert Venturi, architect