Title: Mostly fascinating
Review: This is mostly a collection of mini-histories of the various American businesses and inventions that arose after the Civil War, which are often hugely fascinating on a purely factual level. Boorstin's big argument is that American life became more and more unmoored to local places and common bodies of knowledge, resulting in a disorienting and dispiriting world of mass marketing and suburbs, with gadgets that worked in ways no one can understand. There is a right-wing drift to his ideas, but the sureness of his opinions is nice to hear even if you don't agree.
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