In the context of rising consumerism and globalization, books on consumption are numerous. These tend to be firmly rooted in particular disciplines, however sociology, anthropology, business or cultural studies and as a result often present a blinkered view.

Karin M. Ekstrm is Associate Professor, Director and Research Leader at the Centre for Consumer Science, Gothenburg. Helene Brembeck is Associate Professor and Research Leader at the Centre for Consumer Science, Gothenburg.

Notes on Contributors, Introduction, 1. Morals and Metaphors: The Meaning of Consumption, 2. I Shop therefore I Know that I Am: The Metaphysical Basis of Modern Consumerism, 3. Culture, Consumption and Marketing: Retrospect and Prospect, 4. The Human Consequences of Consumer Culture, 5. Multiculturalism in the New World Order: Implications for the Study of Consumer Behaviour, 6. The Little Black Dress is the Solution, but what is the Problem?, 7. Making Up People: Consumption as a Symbolic Vocabulary for the Construction of Identity, 8. Gender, Technologies and Computer-mediated Communications in Consumption-related Online Communities, 9. Dreams of Eden: A Critical Reader-Response Analysis of the Mytho-Ideologies Encoded in Natural Health Advertisements, 10. Is the Modern Consumer a Buridan's Donkey? Product Packaging and Consumer Choice, 11. Visual Consumption in the Image Economy