The Conquest of Cool

Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism

Business & Finance, Marketing & Sales, Commerce, Nonfiction, History, Modern, 20th Century
Cover of the book The Conquest of Cool by Thomas Frank, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Frank ISBN: 9780226924632
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: October 21, 1998
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Thomas Frank
ISBN: 9780226924632
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: October 21, 1998
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

While the youth counterculture remains the most evocative and best-remembered symbol of the cultural ferment of the 1960s, the revolution that shook American business during those boom years has gone largely unremarked. In this fascinating and revealing study, Thomas Frank shows how the youthful revolutionaries were joined—and even anticipated —by such unlikely allies as the advertising industry and the men's clothing business.

"[Thomas Frank is] perhaps the most provocative young cultural critic of the moment."—Gerald Marzorati, New York Times Book Review

"An indispensable survival guide for any modern consumer."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Frank makes an ironclad case not only that the advertising industry cunningly turned the countercultural rhetoric of revolution into a rallying cry to buy more stuff, but that the process itself actually predated any actual counterculture to exploit."—Geoff Pevere, Toronto Globe and Mail

"The Conquest of Cool helps us understand why, throughout the last third of the twentieth century, Americans have increasingly confused gentility with conformity, irony with protest, and an extended middle finger with a populist manifesto. . . . His voice is an exciting addition to the soporific public discourse of the late twentieth century."—T. J. Jackson Lears, In These Times

"An invaluable argument for anyone who has ever scoffed at hand-me-down counterculture from the '60s. A spirited and exhaustive analysis of the era's advertising."—Brad Wieners, Wired Magazine

"Tom Frank is . . . not only old-fashioned, he's anti-fashion, with a place in his heart for that ultimate social faux pas, leftist politics."—Roger Trilling, Details

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

While the youth counterculture remains the most evocative and best-remembered symbol of the cultural ferment of the 1960s, the revolution that shook American business during those boom years has gone largely unremarked. In this fascinating and revealing study, Thomas Frank shows how the youthful revolutionaries were joined—and even anticipated —by such unlikely allies as the advertising industry and the men's clothing business.

"[Thomas Frank is] perhaps the most provocative young cultural critic of the moment."—Gerald Marzorati, New York Times Book Review

"An indispensable survival guide for any modern consumer."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Frank makes an ironclad case not only that the advertising industry cunningly turned the countercultural rhetoric of revolution into a rallying cry to buy more stuff, but that the process itself actually predated any actual counterculture to exploit."—Geoff Pevere, Toronto Globe and Mail

"The Conquest of Cool helps us understand why, throughout the last third of the twentieth century, Americans have increasingly confused gentility with conformity, irony with protest, and an extended middle finger with a populist manifesto. . . . His voice is an exciting addition to the soporific public discourse of the late twentieth century."—T. J. Jackson Lears, In These Times

"An invaluable argument for anyone who has ever scoffed at hand-me-down counterculture from the '60s. A spirited and exhaustive analysis of the era's advertising."—Brad Wieners, Wired Magazine

"Tom Frank is . . . not only old-fashioned, he's anti-fashion, with a place in his heart for that ultimate social faux pas, leftist politics."—Roger Trilling, Details

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Trance-Migrations by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book About the Beginning of the Hermeneutics of the Self by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book Galileo, Courtier by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book Islam and Modernity by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book The Dancing Bees by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book After Preservation by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book The Testing Charade by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book Tunnel Visions by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book Nothing by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book The Search for Justice by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book Shareholder Democracies? by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book America's Snake by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book The Dawn of the Deed by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book Miss Cutler and the Case of the Resurrected Horse by Thomas Frank
Cover of the book The Earthquake Observers by Thomas Frank
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy